Saturday, September 22, 2007

New Roots Television Videos

One of my favorite sites is Roots Television at http://www.rootstelevision.com/.

They keep adding interesting genealogy videos. Some of the best "new" ones from my perspective include:

* "Family Tree" Music video -- this is a great song with wonderful videos.

* "The Socks to America" video -- this is funny -- a Ken Burns-like short program about a special family.

* "Cemetery Records" lecture by Kory Meyerink -- an hour long presentation from the 2007 BYU Computerized Family History and Genealogy Conference.

* "SCGS Genealogy Library Tour" -- an 8 minute tour of the Southern California Genealogical Society library in Burbank CA.

* "One-Step Genealogy and Stephen Morse Interview" -- an 11 minute interview with the guy who makes searching genealogy records on the Internet much easier!

Do you all know that RootsTelevision has a number of blogs? Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to put them into my Bloglines account for some reason, so I access them only occasionally. Besides that, they all changed their URL's in the recent past (my thanks to Ron Chard for informing me about this). The RootsTV based blogs are:

* Megan Smolenyak's "Megan's RootsWorld"

* Rick Crume's "The Internet Guy"

* Og's (who??) "Og Blog" (this guy (?) seems to make all the conferences - has anyone met him yet?)

* Tina Boice and Tracey Long's "Climbing Family Trees"

* RAOGK Volunteers at "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness"

Incidentally, you CAN subscribe to each of these blogs via email, which is what I've done so that I don't miss any announcements about new videos or even Og's excursions into the 21st century world of genealogy research.

Just a reminder that RootsTelevision is FREE still -- all of those videos (probably hundreds) with lots of useful and sometimes funny information can be viewed on your home computer or through a wireless hookup at a local library, hotel, coffeehouse or airport. My CVGS research group would view these regularly if we could get a reliable wireless signal in the conference room at the library. We're working on it...

Ahnentafel for Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)

Here is post #6 of the ahnentafel lists for my 8 great-grandparents. This list goes only into the 4th generation because I am really stuck before 1800 with these English families.

--------------------------------------

Ancestors of Thomas Richmond

Generation No. 1

1. Thomas Richmond, born 16 Jun 1848 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 09 Nov 1917 in Clinton, Worcester County, MA. He married (1) Julia White 20 Jun 1868 in Elmville, Windham County, CT. She was born 08 Sep 1848 in Killingly, Windham County, CT, and died 04 Oct 1913 in Putnam, Windham County, CT, (vc).

Generation No. 2

2. James Richman/Richmond, born Bef. 08 Apr 1821 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND, (baptism); died 20 Dec 1912 in Putnam, Windham County, CT, (vc). He married 07 Sep 1845 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND, (parish).
3. Hannah Rich, born 14 Apr 1824 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 07 Aug 1911 in Putnam, Windham County, CT, (vc).

Generation No. 3

4. John Richman, born About 1788 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 25 Apr 1867 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND, (burial). He married 08 Feb 1811 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND (parish).
5. Ann Marshman, born Bef. 20 Jun 1784 in Devizes, Wiltshire, ENGLAND (baptism); died About 1856 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND.
6. John Rich, born About 1793 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 06 Jun 1868 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND (burial). He married 14 Feb 1815 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND (parish).
7. Rebecca Hill, born About 1789 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 07 Mar 1862 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND, (PR).

Generation No. 4

10. Richard Marshman He married 19 Dec 1778 in Devizes, Wiltshire, ENGLAND.
11. Rebecca Phipps

14. John Hill, born About 1766 in Wiltshire, ENGLAND; died 13 Jan 1825 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND (buried). He married 27 Jul 1788 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND.
15. Ann Warren

--------------------------------

A more complete Ahnentafel report for these families, with listings of children of these ancestors, can be found at "Ancestors of Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)."

Are there any cousins in genealogy-blog-land who share these families? Can you add information to this list? If so, please contact me at rjseaver(at)cox.net.

Ahnentafel of Julia White (1848-1913)

Here is post #5 of the ahnentafel lists for my 8 great-grandparents. I chose to list only six generations because of the potential length of the post.

----------------------------------

Generation No. 1

1. Julia White, born 08 Sep 1848 in Killingly, Windham County, CT; died 04 Oct 1913 in Putnam, Windham County, CT, (vc). She married 20 Jun 1868 in Elmville, Windham County, CT. He was born 16 Jun 1848 in Hilperton, Wiltshire, ENGLAND, and died 09 Nov 1917 in Clinton, Worcester County, MA.

Generation No. 2

2. Henry A. White, born 1824 in Glocester, Providence County, RI; died 01 Aug 1885 in East Killingly, Windham County, CT. He married 30 Jun 1844 in Thompson, Windham County, CT, (VR).
3. Amy Frances Oatley, born 1826 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died Bef. 1870 in Killingly, Windham County, CT.

Generation No. 3

4. Jonathan White, born 1806 in Glocester, Providence County, RI; died 19 Apr 1850 in Killingly, Windham County, CT, (vc). He married About 1824 in prob. Foster, Providence County, RI.
5. Miranda Wade, born 25 Jan 1804 in Foster, Providence County, RI; died 27 Aug 1850 in Killingly, Windham County, CT.
6. Jonathan Oatley, born 07 Jul 1790 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 10 Aug 1872 in East Killingly, Windham County, CT. He married 29 May 1813 in Exeter, Washington County, RI.
7. Amy Champlin, born About 1797 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 08 Feb 1863 in East Killingly, Windham County, CT.

Generation No. 4

8. Humphrey White, born About 1758 in prob. Westport, Bristol County, MA; died 15 Jan 1814 in Glocester, Providence County, RI. He married 11 Feb 1788 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA, (vr).
9. Sybil Kirby, born 08 Jan 1764 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died Bef. 11 Mar 1848 in Glocester, Providence County, RI.
10. Simon Wade, born 22 Nov 1767 in Foster, Providence County, RI; died 26 Apr 1857 in Killingly, Windham County, CT (VR). He married Bef. 1790 in prob. Foster, Providence County, RI.
11. Phebe Horton, born 07 May 1772 in Foster, Providence County, RI.
12. Joseph Oatley, born 17 Jul 1756 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 29 Nov 1815 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married 29 Jan 1781 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
13. Mary Hazard, born About 1764 in Newport, Newport County, RI; died 20 May 1857 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
14. Joseph Champlin, born About 1758 in Charlestown, Washington County, RI; died 17 Jun 1850 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married Bef. 1785 in prob. South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
15. Nancy Kenyon, born About 1765 in Washington County RI.

Generation No. 5

16. Jonathan White, born About 1730 in prob. Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 21 Nov 1804 in Westport, Bristol County, MA, (vr). He married 01 Jan 1756 in Dartmouth (int), Bristol County, MA, (vr).
17. Abigail Wing, born 25 Apr 1734 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 06 Aug 1806 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
18. David Kirby, born 16 Aug 1740 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died Bef. 01 May 1832 in Westport, Bristol County, MA (will proved). He married 21 Apr 1763 in Tiverton, Newport County, RI.
19. Martha Soule, born 01 Oct 1743 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 26 May 1828 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
20. Simon Wade, born 11 Dec 1731 in Scituate, Providence County, RI; died Aft. 1790 in prob. Foster, Providence County, RI. He married Bef. 1765 in prob. Providence, Providence County, RI.
21. Deborah Tracy, born 20 Feb 1730/31 in Providence, Providence County, RI; died in prob. Foster, Providence County, RI. Williams.
22. Nathaniel Horton, born About 1730 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, MA; died Bef. 04 May 1819 in Foster, Providence County, RI. He married About 1755 in prob. Scituate, Providence County, RI.
23. Sarah Pray, born About 1734 in Providence County, RI; died Aft. 1819 in prob. Foster, Providence County, RI.
24. Benedict Oatley, born 25 Dec 1732 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 01 Aug 1821 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married 02 Oct 1755 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
25. Elizabeth/Betsy Ladd, born 09 Jul 1735 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI; died 27 Nov 1814 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
26. Stephen Hazard, born About 1730 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 24 Oct 1804 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married About 1760 in RI.
27. Elizabeth Carpenter, born 02 Oct 1741 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
28. Elijah Champlin, born 1730 in prob. Westerly, Washington County, RI; died Bef. 19 Feb 1779 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI (will proved). He married 27 Nov 1751 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
29. Phoebe Card, born About 1733 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 19 Feb 1787 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
30. John Kenyon, born About 1742 in Richmond, Washington County, RI; died Jul 1831 in Sterling, Windham County, CT. He married 1764 in prob. Newport, Newport County, RI.
31. Anna Kenyon, died Bef. 1831 in prob. Windham County, CT.

Generation No. 6

32. William White, born About 1708 in prob. Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died Bef. 03 Oct 1780 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. He married 02 Oct 1729 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI.
33. Abigail Thurston, born 07 May 1700 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI.
34. Benjamin Wing, born 01 Feb 1697/98 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died Aft. 15 Oct 1776 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. He married 18 Oct 1722 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA, (vr).
35. Content Tucker, born 12 Mar 1694/95 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died Bef. Oct 1738 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
36. Ichabod Kirby, born About 1710 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died About 1794 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. He married 21 Feb 1732/33 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
37. Rachel Allen, born 11 Jul 1708 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
38. Benjamin Soule, born 18 Nov 1719 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 31 Jan 1803 in Westport, Bristol County, MA. He married About 1742 in prob. Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
39. Meribah Waite, born 20 Jul 1720 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 03 Feb 1803 in Westport, Bristol County, MA, (vr).
40. Nathaniel Wade, born 27 Jan 1708/09 in Medford, Middlesex County, MA; died 29 Jun 1754 in Scituate, Providence County, RI (probate record). He married 26 Jun 1731 in Scituate, Providence County, RI.
41. Ruth Hawkins, born 14 Mar 1710/11 in Providence, Providence County, RI (VR); died 07 Dec 1789 in Scituate, Providence County, RI.
42. John Tracy, born About 1695 in Duxbury, Plymouth County, MA; died 1751 in Providence, Providence County, RI. He married 02 Jan 1727/28 in Providence, Providence County, RI.
43. Mary Hawkins, born About 1710 in Providence, Providence County, RI; died 1767 in Providence, Providence County, RI.
44. John Horton, born 21 Mar 1695/96 in Swansea, Bristol County, MA; died 10 Jan 1796 in Glocester, Providence County, RI. He married 09 Jul 1719 in Swansea, Bristol County, MA, (vr).
45. Mary Chase, born 15 Jan 1694/95 in Newbury, Essex County, MA (VR, 1:84); died 09 Mar 1731/32 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, MA.
46. Richard Pray, born About 1683 in Providence, Providence County, RI; died 10 Jul 1755 in Scituate, Providence County, RI. He married
47. Rachel, died Bef. 1755 in Scituate, Providence County, RI.
48. Jonathan Oatley, born Bef. 06 Jan 1688/89 in London, London, ENGLAND; died 03 Sep 1755 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married Bef. 1726 in prob, RI.
49. Deliverance Cleveland, born 16 Mar 1702/03; died Bef. 1737 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
50. Joseph Ladd, born 19 Oct 1701 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI; died Bef. Mar 1747/48 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI. He married 25 Aug 1731 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI.
51. Lydia Gray, born 16 Oct 1707 in Little Compton, Newport County, RI.
52. Thomas Hazard, born 28 Jul 1707 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 1741 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married 22 Feb 1726/27 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
53. Hannah Slocum, born 05 Apr 1710 in Jamestown, Newport County, RI; died 24 Jan 1736/37 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
54. Daniel Carpenter, born 18 Dec 1712 in Westerly, Washington County, RI. He married 29 Apr 1733 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
55. Renewed Smith, born 08 May 1717 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
56. William Champlin, born 1687 in Westerly, Washington County, RI; died Aft. 1778 in RI. He married Bef. 1720 in RI.
57. Joanna
58. Job Card, born 02 Sep 1690 in New Shoreham, Newport County, RI; died Bef. 1760 in South Kingstown, Washington County, RI. He married Bef. 1718 in prob. Westerly, Washington County, RI.
59. Judith Greenman, born About 1694 in Westerly, Washington County, RI; died 1786 in Charlestown, Washington County, RI.
60. Sylvester Kenyon, born 07 Apr 1710 in Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died 03 May 1800 in Voluntown, New London County, CT. He married 07 Apr 1740 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI.
61. Anna Barber, born 08 Oct 1717 in North Kingstown, Washington County, RI; died Aft. 1800 in Sterling, Windham County, CT.

----------------------------------

A more complete Ahnentafel report for these families, with earlier generations and the listings of children of these ancestors, can be found at "Ancestors of Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)."

Are there any cousins in genealogy-blog-land who share these families? Can you add information to this list? If so, please contact me at rjseaver(at)cox.net.

Friday, September 21, 2007

The Mother of All Genealogy Databases

Drew Smith sent me a link to this article, Coming Soon: The Mother of All Genealogy Databases by Mike Elgan in ComputerWorld magazine. There are two pages to it - be sure to read both pages.

The author apparently is bored by current genealogy methods and databases, and he projects out 10 years and thinks that Google, or some other outfit, will come up with a database that will:

"* Enter your unique ID info (probably your Gmail username) and that of any other person, and the site would trace you both back to the most recent common shared ancestor.

"* Follow a timeline that shows the locations and migrations of ancestors all leading up to the descendant that is you.

* Track down every living relative.

* Pick any year in history and see just how many of your ancestors were alive at the time.

* Genetic family relationships could be combined with Linked-In-type social networking friendships or business relationships to render the most direct connection with anyone else ("Hey, you're the brother-in-law of my former boss's wife!").

* And many other cool tricks nobody can even think of right now.

"Such a public database would also have profound social implications. For example, it would probably render meaningless the concept of race because we would see before our eyes that we're all a lot more like Tiger Woods than any of us thought.

"Second, the privacy implications would be enormous and obvious.

"Third, such knowledge might have legal implications, calling into question various people's right to inherit property or titles.

"The prospects of such a massive, public database are staggering, scary and, yes, exciting.

"Genealogy is boring. But tomorrow's genealogy -- with a million times better results with a fraction of the effort -- well, that's something our ancestors couldn't even have imagined."

I took quite a bit there, but I thought it was the meat of the article. It is an interesting set of premises and predictions.

So -- is it possible that this will be where the art and science of genealogy and family history will be in 10 years?

I have the following observations:

* I think that genealogy will be real boring if the above predictions come true in 10 years or even 100 years. The thrill of genealogy for me is the hunt for ancestors and their stories, not knowing names, dates and places.

* Logically, this isn't going to happen because there is a dearth of records in many places over long periods of time. While some people can get back to 17th century Europe with one ancestral line or many, nobody can get back to 17th century Europe (or Asia, Africa, Latin America) with EVERY ancestral line. The records just are not available. Even the best researchers have many brick wall ancestors that are nearly impossible to find. The exception, and the wonderful example, is Iceland ancestry, of course.

* Two of these items can be accomplished now if someone has a fairly well filled out family tree in a database back into the 19th century or earlier. You could create a timeline that shows your ancestors, their locations and family situation. Likewise, you could create a list or map that shows where your ancestors live in a certain year.

* DNA tests and results cannot deal with every member in a person's ancestry yet, and probably will never be able to. The Y-DNA study traces only the patrilineal line, and determines if the person matches some other person who has been tested; the test doesn't identify the actual ancestors - it only allows a person to determine if they have a common male ancestor generations earlier. The mtDNA study traces only the matrilineal line, and does not define the ancestral line, only the genetic haplogroup that the female line comes from. If a person has cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. tested, s/he may be able to define up to 8 ancestral lines, but not the other hundreds of ancestral lines. Perhaps if every person's genome were determined this dream scenario could be realized, but that's probably real expensive.

* If all of the world's genealogy research is completed in TMOAGD, what will the genealogy industry (commercial companies, databases, LDS, magazines, writers, editors, readers, speakers, conference planners) do in their spare time? I know - they'll be memorizing their own genome coding, after all it's only several billion characters!

Those are my "off the cuff" thoughts and analyses - what do you think? Please read the article and blog about or comment here your thoughts about TMOAGD (The Mother of All Genealogy Databases). Is it feasible? Will it ever happen?

Thanks, Drew, for pointing me to an interesting and challenging article.

A funny obituary - true too?

The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London is famous for its lengthy and "too honest" (or maybe "too funny") obituaries. This one, for a William Donaldson, runs three online pages and is hilarious, and sad. Is all of it true?

Here are some snippets from it:

----------------------------------

William Donaldson, who died on June 22 aged 70, was described by Kenneth Tynan as "an old Wykehamist who ended up as a moderately successful Chelsea pimp", which was true, though he was also a failed theatrical impresario, a crack-smoking serial adulterer and a writer of autobiographical novels; but it was under the nom de plume Henry Root that he became best known.

Willie Donaldson's alter ego was a Right-wing nutcase and wet fish merchant from Elm Park Mansions, SW10, who specialised in writing brash, outrageous and frequently abusive letters to eminent public figures, enclosing a one pound note. Donaldson's genius was to write letters that appeared absurd to the public but not to those to whom they were addressed. The recipients duly replied, often unaware that the joke was on them.

Root chastised the Archbishop of Canterbury for failing to thank him for the five pounds he had donated towards roof repairs; suggested to Margaret Thatcher (who kept the enclosed one pound) that Mary Whitehouse should be made Home Secretary; sympathised with the Queen about the "problems" she was having with Princess Anne ("My Doreen, 19, is completely off the rails too, so I know what it's like"); and told the Thorpe trial judge, Sir Joseph Cantley: "You tipped the jury the right way and some of your jokes were first class! Well done! You never looked to me like the sort of man who'd send an old Etonian to the pokey", a communication which brought a visit from the police, investigating allegations of attempted bribery.

-- snip --

Charles William Donaldson, the son of a Scottish-born shipping magnate, was born on January 4 1935 at Sunningdale, Berkshire, where he grew up, surrounded by servants, in a 30-roomed mansion. He was fond of his father, but disliked his snobbish, bullying mother and never forgave her for firing the family's faithful chauffeur after she discovered that he voted Socialist.

Donaldson was educated at Winchester, where he discovered that he had lost the contest for the title of stupidest boy in the school when his competitor, an Earl, was advised to "try Eton" after just one term. He then concentrated on perfecting his skills as an eccentric nuisance, wearing his straw hat at a facetious angle, conducting sexual experiments with other boys behind the squash courts and instigating "positive" bullying - by boys of the prefects.

--------------------------------------------

That is quite an obituary. I'm sure his children are real proud of him. Maybe we don't need to know "everything" about a person's life, eh?

CVGS Program on Monday, 24 September: John Finch on "Reunions"

The next Chula Vista Genealogical Society meeting is Monday, 24 September at 10 a.m. in the Chula Vista Civic Center Library Auditorium. Please enter through the Conference Room in the east hallway in order to sign in, pick up the program handouts, and have a drink and a mid-morning snack.

After a short CVGS business meeting, the program speaker will be introduced. The program presentation this month is "Reunions" by John Finch:

John’s topic, REUNIONS, is of special interest to him. He has planned family reunions and a class reunion that were very successful. It is his goal that you may learn how to plan and execute a reunion that will be a joyful and memorable event and have the benefit of enhancing your family research.

John has been a member of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society since 1999 and has served as Library Coordinator, Program Chair and President (2005 -2006 term). He is also a member of the California State Genealogical Alliance. He retired from U.S. Navy in 1980, and from the San Diego County Probation Department in 1999.

John developed an interest in his own family history at a very young age, but did not begin an active pursuit of research until after retiring in 1999. Now, he spends several hours each week researching his family and volunteers, at this library, every Monday morning to assist new and seasoned researchers.

Guests and visitors are welcome to attend all CVGS meetings, which are always free to the public. For more information about this program, or about the Society, please contact Randy Seaver at 619-422-3397 or email rjseaverATcox.net.

Lowell (MA) Teachers College - 1939 Yearbook

I got a packet in the mail yesterday from my cousin who was the executor of my Aunt Geraldine's estate. Included in the box was the 1939 school yearbook for Lowell (MA) State Teachers College, "The Knoll."

Here is the page with Geraldine Seaver's picture. As you can see, many of Gerry's classmates wrote notes and encouragements on the pages.



One of the best pages was "Us" where each student was noted for something, their "idea or misery," and their "probable end." For Geraldine Seaver, she was noted for "poise," her idea or misery was "cracking on a high note" (she was a Music major) and her probable end was a "Hausfrau."

This college had 61 seniors, 62 juniors, 65 sophomores, 76 freshmen and 4 special students in 1938-9. There are lists for each of these students with an address and home town. There are pictures only of the senior class and the staff.

The administration and staff included:

* James Dugan, President
* Blanche A. Cheney, Dean (History, Government, Sociology)
* Josephine W. Chute (Drawing, Practical Arts)
* Sarah E. Lovell, M.A. (Literature, English for Intermediate Grades)
* William E. Riley (Penmanship, Physical Science, Mathematics of Finance)

* Frances Clark (Geography, Arithmetic)
* Emma Ramsay, A.B. (Educational Methods, Director of Student Teacher Training)
* Herman H. Brase, M.A. (Educational Psychology, German)
* Dr. Merrite A. Hiscoe, Ed. M. (Graphic Educational Methods, U.S. History and Government, Art Expression)
* Mabel E. Turner, Ed. M. (Biology, Health Education, Genetics)

* A. Florence Kirby, Ed. M. (Dramatic Interpretation, Literature)
* Mabel E. Wilson, Mus. B. (Music, French)
* Christine M. Kane, M.A. (Librarian, Reading Methods, English Literature)
* Grace G. Pierce (Director of Music)
* Marguerite Gourville (Physical Education)

* Kathleen Burt (Registrar)
* Beatrice Meagher (Secretary)

The Senior students were (name, home town):

* Evelyna L. Anderson, Lowell.
* Margaret Lorraine Athridge, Medford
* Helen Clark Barrett, Lawrence
* Mabelle Booth Birtwell, East Chelsmford.
* Virginia Marie Bonan, Lowell

* Barbara D. Brennon, Lowell
* Rita Marian Bruno, Methuen
* Thelma Lucille Bryant, Billerica
* Faith Bullock, Lowell
* Josephine F. Callagy, Lawrence

* Catherine Virginia Callahan, Lowell
* Agnes Patricia Carey, Woburn
* Eleanor D. Casazza, Haverhill
* Elizabeth T. Crine, Somerville
* Catherine P. Cryan, Lowell

* Margaret Swan Curley, Westford
* M. Alice Dillon, Woburn
* Patricia O. Doherty, Belmont
* Edna G. Dubois, Cambridge
* Grace Anne Dungan, Lowell

* Rita Hosmer Edwards, Westford
* Marguerite Thomasina Ferris, Lawrence
* Dorine E. Flanagan, Cambridge
* Ruth Ethel Fox, Dracut
* Marguerite Mary Frawley, Lawrence

* Elinor Elizabeth Gleason, Lowell
* Dorothy E. Grondine, Dracut
* Ruth Elizabeth Gumb, Methuen
* Margaret Jonanna Hedstrom, Lowell
* Dorothy Mae Keller, Woburn

* Rose Gladys Kerivan, Billerica
* Adeline Naomi Lachut, Dracut
* Elizabeth Drummond Lawrence, Haverhill
* Martha Elizabeth Manahan, Methuen
* Dorothy Blake Marshall, Lowell

* Margaret Ann McCaffrey, Cambridge
* Margaret Mary McDermott, Woburn
* Margaret Arlene McEvoy, North Andover
* Mary Elizabeth McGauvran
* Mary Geraldine McNulty

* Mary Dolan Monahan, Lowell
* Helen Florence Nichols, Haverhill
* Grace Eaton Newton, Haverhill
* Kathleen Downing O'Donnell, Lowell
* Inez Oliver, Millis

* Madelyn T. O'Neil, Lawrence
* Irene Panagiotacopoulos, Lowell
* Doris Arline Parker, Dracut
* Edith Pekkanen, Clinton
* Janet Radcliffe, Lowell

* Grace Elizabeth Reynolds, Medford
* Josephine H. Rhones, Lexington
* Thelma Hayes Roberts, Lowell
* Elizabeth Rock, Medford
* Geraldine Seaver, Leominster

* Sylvia Shapiro, Lowell
* Margaret Duarte Sousa, Lowell
* Geraldine Patricia Sullivan, Saugus
* Helen Regina Sullivan, Lowell
* Roberta Frances Urban, Springfield

* Myrla Pauline Wilbur, Tyngsboro
* Grace Elizabeth Lawless, Peabody.

Former members of the 1939 class (presumably they left school) were (no pictures or hometown):

* Mary O'Brien Campbell
* Elizabeth M. Dobbins
* Frances Pinsky
* Christine M. Quartarone
* Katherine Stacey
* Ethel Laffin Wilson.

For many of the persons listed above, there are personal notes to Gerry in their handwriting.

If anybody wants a scan of a particular page from this yearbook, please contact me at rjseaverATcox.net.

Gena Philibert Ortega had an excellent post in August concerning collections of School records - see it at http://philibertfamily.blogspot.com/2007/08/school-its-most-wonderful-time-of-year.html.

Why did I post this long list of beautiful young women? Because they are the grandmothers and great-grandmothers of currently living people, and there may be some interest in the pictures and articles in this yearbook. Since this blog, and many others, are indexed and cached by Google, someone searching for these people may run across this post and contact me for more information.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

CVGS Seminar - Saturday, 20 October 2007 - "Genealogy Online - Discover Your Family History"

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society and the Chula Vista Public Library are co-sponsoring a FREE all-day seminar - titled:

"Genealogy Online - Discovering Family History"

The seminar will be on Saturday, 20 October 2007, from 10 AM until 3 PM at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch auditorium (365 "F" Street, Chula Vista CA 91910, phone 619-691-5069). Check-in will start at 10 AM and the program will start at 10:20 am.

Four presentations will be made by Randy Seaver:

* 10:30 am: Internet Genealogy Survey
* 11:30 am: LDS FamilySearch Resources
* 1:00 pm: Rootsweb/USGenWeb Resources
* 2:00 pm: Ancestry.com Resources

The emphasis in these presentations will be on finding real genealogy data and information helpful to your search using online resources. A program syllabus summarizing the links in the program content will be available for $5.00 (reservations requested).

There will be a 45 minute refreshment break at 12:15 PM with fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, cookies and desserts provided by CVGS. There will be an opportunity drawing for several prizes.

Please contact Virginia (phone 619-425-7922 or email irishdoll@cox.net) to make your reservation or for more information.

San Diego researchers -- Put this event on your genealogy calendar!

Noted genea-blogger committed

Janice Brown at Cow Hampshire challenged genea-bloggers to resuscitate their humor gene and post either a JibJab video, a newspaper clipping, or some other "fun generator" tidbit.

Here is my contribution to the fun archives:



Obviously, I have a fear that this might be a true story at some time in the future.

Janice is keeping a list of those geneaholics, er, fun genea-bloggers, who have participated. Some of the videos are hilarious.

What other "fun generators" are there? Tell me!

Capturing Memories

Terry Thornton on his Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi blog has a post this morning printing letters from a friendly lady who used to live in Splunge in Monroe and Itawamba counties in Mississippi.

When I read letters like these from people I am always struck by the thought:

"Who else would know about this? This is a priceless historical resource for residents of this particular place.

"Isn't it too bad that there are not more remembrance books or articles, especially from folks who lived in the 20th century."

Many of our ancestors wrote diaries, had account books, possessed trunkloads of family papers, etc. Like many other bloggers, I have tried to transcribe and post my own family's records - like Della's Journal (most recent here), family pictures, 30th Street Memories (here and here), etc. Hopefully, they will live on in posterity. Other than the instantaneous novelty appeal to other researchers, who are the real beneficiaries to these posts and this information? I think they are only the members of the immediate family. In my case, my brothers, cousins, children and grandchildren - assuming that they read them.

However, I have a lot of information obtained from my extended family members - taped and transcribed family memories and stories, loose pictures and whole albums, family papers, etc. Much of this has not been posted or published - partly because of the volume of information but also for family privacy reasons.

On the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog, I have been transcribing the Table of Contents of published books about early Chula Vista history. Of course, the area was settled in the 1880's, and Chula Vista became a city in 1911. Therefore, many of the stories told are based on personal experiences written or dictated by people in the mid-1900's. In reading these historical narratives I again had the two different thoughts I noted above.

There is more information in any one of the stories in these books than you or I can glean from the historical records - the census, probate, land, vital, and other records. These stories are about how people lived, worked, failed, succeeded, and died.

I guess the point of this post is to encourage all of us to do several things:

* Write our own memoirs and distribute them to interested family members. Frankly, I take the attitude "I don't care if they are interested in it now, but I hope they will be interested at some time, and therefore I will distribute it to them on CD or paper no matter if they want, or like, it or not!"

* Start, support and complete projects in your local genealogy society to capture family memories from willing participants. This could start with family histories and stories from society members. It could also be a published book commemorating a city or county anniversary. For instance, Chula Vista will celebrate its' 100th anniversary in 2011. One of the problems that many people fear is, of course, privacy and identity theft.

What about you? Have you written your memoirs? If not, Miriam Midkiff has a series of blog posts with weekly memory joggers at http://ancestories2.blogspot.com/ to encourage you to write about specific topics. Please do it - so that your family can know about your life experiences, and the history of your community too.

Going the extra mile

I posted last Saturday about one of my favorite ancestors, Isaac Buck (1757-1846) and his Revolutionary War record - the post is here. I had posted earlier about "the rest of his life" in posts here, here and here.

Tim Abbott, AKA GreenmanTim, who posts at Walking the Berkshires (a must read for me every day - I really appreciate Tim's writing talents and really enjoy his stories), commented in my post about the units that Isaac Buck served in. He wrote:

---------------------------------------

Randy, this is a fascinating account. Intrigued by the service record you listed for your ancestor, I started looking into the units in which he served. Depending on when Isaac Buck transferred from Colonel Asa Whitcomb's Militia regiment to the Artillery, he might or might not have served with Knox from Ticonderoga to Boston but might well have serviced the guns that forced the British to evacuate on March 17, 1776. There is an article about Col. Whitcomb's regiment from a series in the Massachusetts Magazine apparently available at the NEHGS research library (F/61/M48) entitled: “Colonel Asa Whitcomb’s Regiment. Colonel Asa Whitcomb’s Regiment, April 19, 1775. Colonel Asa Whitcomb’s 5th Regiment, Provincial Army, April-July, 1775. Colonel Asa Whitcomb’s 23rd Regiment, Army United Colonies, July-December, 1775.”[The Massachusetts Magazine, July, 1914, 7:3, p. 99-123].

I wonder if perhaps the commander of the Artillery regiment in which he was a matross in 1776 was Thomas Crafts, not James? Here is an article on him from Boston 1775 that may be of interest. http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/08/thomas-craftss-astonishment.html

Col. Thomas Crafts was commander of Massachusett's militia artillery in 1776. He was a prominent Boston patriot as well.Colonel Gamaliel Bradford Commanded a regiment of the Massachusetts Line which saw service in the Saratoga campaign during 1777. More on Colonel Bradford here: http://www.famousamericans.net/gamalielbradford/

His regiment is usually called the 14th Massachusetts but I have seen it also given as the 13th and am not an expert in distinguishing which is correct. He was brigaded with the 10-12th Massachusetts Continentals in Patterson's Brigade at Mt. Independence (I had an ancestor in the 11th) and from there to Saratoga, Valley Forge and Monmouth. I had an ancestor in the 11th MA. In any event, Bradford's was an infantry regiment, not artillery.

Colonel Josiah Whitney had formerly been Lt. Colonel in Asa Whitcomb's Militia regiment. He was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Worcester Regiment of Massachusetts Militia in February, 1776. If Isaac Buck served with him in 1778, He may have taken part in the bungled Newport, Rhode Island campaign between July and September, 1778.

Colonel John Crane's 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment was Knox's old Massachusetts Regiment. While it did indeed help move the guns from Ticonderoga while under Knox in the winter of 1775-1776, your remarkable ancestor served in it in later years.

All told, an extraordinary service record!

----------------------------------------------

I really appreciate Tim's effort in "going the extra mile" to find out information about someone who is not even his own ancestor. This sort of effort happens often, especially in a genealogy society setting. A researcher may ask for help and another researcher will help out of the goodness of his/her heart. Their motivation may also be to learn something interesting and to improve research skills.

Thank you, Tim, for adding more to this story - I really appreciate the effort and the information.

I will restate my summary sentence from my earlier article: "Isn't it amazing what records you can find about your ancestors?" And add to it: "You never know what you can find online, but you have to be willing to look for it."

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Is this a "Bible record?"

One of the most interesting "Bible records" I've encountered in my genealogy research was obtained on a visit to one of Angel Linda's cousins in Alexandria VA. She had visited these people back in 1966 and knew that they were cousins of her grandmother, but she didn't know the exact relationship.

We went on vacation to Washington DC, Williamsburg VA, Charlottesville VA, Gettysburg PA and Lancaster PA in August of 1998, and in the process we contacted Linda's cousins, Louise (the 90-year old mother) and Elizabeth (the age 65-ish daughter). We arranged to visit their home in the late morning and to go to lunch with them. Linda made sure they knew that we were interested in discussing genealogy and family history.

After we arrived and had gotten to know each other a bit, we talked about genealogy and family history. They were very proud of their ancestry, and that Louise's husband was nominated to be Secretary of Labor in Kennedy's administration, but he died before he was appointed. They also had a relationship to Al Gore's wife through the Aitcheson family.

Eventually, I asked what family papers they had for the McKnew family of Prince Georges County in Maryland. Louise's grandmother was Jane McKnew, and Linda's great-grandfather was Elijah McKnew, and we thought that Jane and Elijah were siblings. They had a few family papers, but little about the McKnew family, and they did not know who the parents of Jane and Elijah McKnew were.

In the papers was a small Bible, and there were several scraps of paper used as bookmarks for certain pages. I did not note the publisher and date of the Bible. When I started looking through the Bible, I immediately checked the front part for a sign of ownership and the middle part for a family register of births, marriages and deaths. There were none. I checked almost every page of the Bible, and there were no marks of any kind.

In the process, the two little scraps of paper (approximately 1 inch by 2 inches each) fluttered to the floor. I picked them up and read:

"Allethia MacNew the daughter of Benjamin & Allethia Pickerell deceased May 3d 1845."

"Elizabeth Barnes the mother of Benjamin Pickerell deceased June 2d 1825."

I did not xerox them, but I did transcribe them as above. The handwriting was very clear and large.

I'm still in a quandary about how to consider these two pieces of information.

* Are they original or derivative sources of information? I think they are derivative, since they were probably copied well after the fact.

* Are they primary or secondary information? I think they are secondary - the information came from hearsay or some other form of recorded document not presently available.

* Are they direct or indirect evidence of events? I think that they are direct evidence of deaths.

How would you cite these scraps of paper? Using the "Bible Record" template in Elizabeth Shown Mills' book "Evidence: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian," I have cited it this way in my database:

"Family data. Bible in possession of Louise M______ on 12 August 1998, no title, edition number or copyright date noted. Scrap of paper unattached used as a bookmark."

I have found no other records in either traditional and online resources for these two death events. Knowing the name "Allethia MacNew" did lead me to a marriage record of Allethia Prather to Jeremiah McKnew in Washington DC. The death record of Allethia's mother, Aletha Pickrell, wife of Benjamin Pickrell, was found in an 1841 National Intelligencer newspaper article. So now we know three generations of females here:

* Elizabeth (Barnes) Pickrell (died 1825, mother of Benjamin Pickrell),
* Allethia (Prather) Pickrell (died 1841, wife of Benjamin Pickrell),
* Allethia (Pickrell) McKnew (died 1845, wife of Jeremiah McKnew).

Interestingly, three of Jeremiah and Allethia (Pickrell) McKnew named daughters Allethia.

But I'm still stuck on the father of Benjamin Pickrell and the parents of Elizabeth Barnes. The records in this area are incomplete, to say the least! They are also complicated by the creation of the District of Columbia in the 1790's.

We tried to visit Louise and Elizabeth again in both 2001 and 2004 when we were in the DC area, but our phone calls and subsequent letters have been unanswered. Obviously, I want to get the citation information of the Bible for future reference. We don't know what, if anything, has happened to them. I've searched the obituaries for the DC area occasionally in an effort to determine if they are deceased.

Are these scraps of paper "Bible records?" Or is it just a scrap of family information found in a Bible as a bookmark? I think it is probably the latter. How would you cite it?

Are we ready for another scholarly journal?

The APG mailing list has had an interesting discussion over the last week or so concerning Bible records - you can find the message thread in "Origin of Practice of Keeping Family Records in Bibles."

What is amazing to me is that from this discussion has come a proposal for a new genealogy journal concerning creation, development and destruction of records, evolution of and practices of record keeping, and the like. Craig Scott's post introduced the idea and subsequent posts fleshed out the proposal. It would be a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that would fill a gap in available journals by studying "development" rather than "content" and "application" of genealogy records.

I fervently believe that such a journal would be an excellent companion to the other scholarly journals being published which focus mainly on "content" and "application." Of course, some journal articles in NGSQ, NEHGR, APG and other scholarly journals have discussed the development of records and the evolution of types of records, but this new journal would be devoted to the subject.

There is more to genealogy and family history than pursuing just your own research goals in traditional and/or online resources. There are researchers, writers and editors in this profession who work hard to improve the "state of the art" in genealogy research. In the big scheme of things, they are vital and invaluable.

CVGS Computer Group meeting today

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society had our monthly Computer Group meeting today in the Computer Lab. Shirley was back to lead the group. We had 12 people in attendance. We connected one of the library computers to the projector so we could demonstrate using Ancestry Library Edition and other genealogy web sites.

Shirley demonstrated using many of the databases at http://www.rootsweb.com/ and http://www.usgenweb.org/.

On Rootsweb, we checked out the MetaSearch (searches over 45 Rootsweb databases) and the SearchThingy (a site search for all of Rootsweb) indexes. The attendees input their search names into the search box and links to the databases with the names were listed.

We also visited the Rootsweb WorldConnect database, and the attendees searched for their surnames in the "Find a database by surname(s)" search box and then searched some of the databases that had those surnames. This is a different search technique than putting your surname and given name in the general search box at the top of the WorldConnect page and getting a list of people in the entire WorldConnect database.

Then it was off to the USGenWeb page, where we visited several county web sites and investigated the holdings in those counties. Shirley demonstrated using the New York page and the group looked at several county web pages.

Finally, we visited the "Message Boards" and "Web Pages" links at the top of the Rootsweb page. Finding a surname message board and a locality message board was demonstrated. Many of the attendees had used the Message Boards before, but have found it hard to find a specific board. The "Web Pages" link provides a list to find surnames posted on the FreePages web sites provided by Rootsweb. Many of the attendees have not used these pages before.

This Computer Group provides opportunities for teaching and demonstrating genealogy databases and web sites, and most of the attendees follow along and try their own surnames in the search boxes. Other attendees spend most of the group time exploring Ancestry Library Edition for their own research (since most don't have a home subscription).

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

"War Stories" Carnival of Genealogy is Online

The 32nd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy about "War Stories" is available at Susan A. Kitchen's blog, Oral Family History Using Digital Tools, - the post is http://familyoralhistory.us/news/view/carnival_of_genealogy_family_wartime_stories/

There were 16 stories submitted, from the Revolutionary War to the Korean War. Susan arranged them in order. What a great job by Susan - she added some graphics where they were appropriate - old maps, etc.

My submission was Patriot Soldier, Isaac Buck.

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Weddings! Is there a cultural or religious wedding tradition in your family? Do you have a funny family wedding story you’d care to share? Did your grandparents elope? Cousin marry cousin? Is there an especially touching wedding photo in your collection? Do you think your ancestor holds the record for the most times married? Write about a wedding(s) in your family and submit it for the next edition of the COG.

The deadline for submissions is October 1st. You can submit your blog article for the next edition using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

BYU Digital Archives - Family History Archives

I went to the Family History Center today to collect more images from the Jamestown (RI) town Records of probate and land records for my colonial Rhode Island ancestors.

After an hour of scanning and saving then copying to my flash drive, I was done. So I went to the computers to check if the Premium Databases had been connected to this FHC and they have not.

Then I checked the Family History Library Catalog for some of my "new" surnames - the families related to Cornelia Bresee - names like Van Deusen, Scism, Meyer, Dyckman, etc. - all Dutch families from the Albany/Rensselaer area of colonial upstate New York.

One of the book references for the Van Deusen surname had a link that said "View Book." I couldn't resist, of course, and immediately found myself looking at the Family History Archives at Brigham Young University. The search box for this collection is at http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/.

When I put the surname "Van Deusen" into the search box, I got a page with 4 matches. I clicked on the first one titled "Abraham Van Deusen and many of his descendants, with biographical notes; 1635-1901."

A web page with a Table of Contents on the left hand side and the first page image on the rest of the page, within a frame. The page was in PDF format. I could Print, Save to File, Send to Kinko's, Start a Web Meeting, Zoom In or Zoom Out using the icons at the top of the preview page. For the next page, I had to click the "Next Page" link at the top of the left hand panel.

When I got home, I duplicated my search and I saved some of the pages for the Van Deusen book to my hard drive, and will read through them at my leisure. I chose to save the pages using page numbers, using a three-digit number (e.g. p005) so that the pages would be in order in the file. Unfortunately, you get only one page at a time, so reading these pages will be click- intensive.

This works pretty well - the pages load quickly and the navigation and execution are flawless.

There are now over 5,100 family history books - surnames and locality books - in this Family History Archive. That sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. If you put in a list of surnames, only a few will have a match. Same thing with localities - you will get a few hits. The books that are there are out of copyright, most were published before 1923. There are other web sites that have these books and many more, but most of them are not FREE like this collection is.

Most of these books have been digitized by the Genealogy society of Utah and are linked to the Family History Library Catalog. A few were digitized by the Allen County Public Library.

Have you checked the BYU Family History Archive of books? If not, you should check it for your surnames and localities. Try it!

Ahnentafel for Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)

Here is post #4 of the ahnentafel lists for my 8 great-grandparents. I chose to list only six generations because of the potential length of the post.

---------------------------------------
Ancestors of Georgianna/Georgia Kemp

Generation No. 1


1. Georgianna/Georgia Kemp, born 04 Aug 1868 in prob. Middleton, Norfolk County, ONTARIO; died 08 Nov 1952 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA (CA DI). She married (1) Charles Auble 19 Jun 1898 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI (WI MI). He was born 31 Oct 1849 in prob. Newton, Sussex County, NJ, and died 23 Mar 1916 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA (CA DI).

Generation No. 2

2. James Abram Kemp, born 22 May 1831 in prob. Hillier, Prince Edward, ONTARIO; died 19 Sep 1902 in Delhi, Norfolk, ONTARIO. He married 10 Mar 1861 in Middleton, Norfolk, ONTARIO.
3. Mary Jane Sovereen, born 29 Dec 1840 in prob. Delhi, Norfolk, ONTARIO; died 20 May 1874 in Middleton, Norfolk, ONTARIO.

Generation No. 3

4. Abraham James Kemp, born 04 Nov 1795 in Fredericksburgh, Addington, ONTARIO; died Aft. 1881 in Norfolk County, ONTARIO. He married 16 Apr 1818 in probably Prince Edward County, ONTARIO.
5. Sarah Sephrona Fletcher, born 07 Jul 1802 in perhaps, Quebec, New France; died Aft. 1861 in prob. Norfolk County, ONTARIO.
6. Alexander Sovereign, born 22 Dec 1814 in Middleton, Norfolk, Upper Canada; died 15 Aug 1907 in Windham, Norfolk, ONTARIO. He married 03 Mar 1840 in Norfolk County, ONTARIO.
7. Eliza Putman, born 01 Jan 1820 in Wayne, Steuben, NY; died 17 Mar 1895 in Delhi, Norfolk, ONTARIO.

Generation No. 4

8. John Kemp, born About 1768 in prob. Schenectady, Albany, NY; died Aft. Apr 1861 in prob. Northumberland County, ONTARIO. He married 26 Jan 1795 in Fredricksburgh, Addington, ONTARIO.
9. Mary Dafoe, born About 1776 in VT; died Bef. 1851 in prob. Northumberland County, ONTARIO.

12. Frederick Sovereign, born 14 Feb 1786 in Schooley's, Mountain, Warren Co, NJ; died 14 Jun 1875 in Middleton, Norfolk, ONTARIO, CANADA. He married 17 May 1810 in London District, Upper Canada.
13. Mary Jane Hutchinson, born 22 Jan 1792 in Pleasant Valley, New Brunswick; died 16 Apr 1868 in Delhi, Norfolk, ONTARIO, CANADA.
14. John Putman, born Bef. 27 Sep 1785 in Walpack, Sussex, NJ (baptism); died 10 May 1863 in Delhi, Norfolk, ONT. He married About 1808 in prob. Sussex County, NJ.
15. Sarah Martin, born 07 Mar 1792 in NJ; died 21 Dec 1860 in Delhi, Norfolk, ONT.

Generation No. 5

16. John Kemp, born About 1723; died Jan 1793 in Fredericksburgh, Prince Edward, ONTARIO. He married Bef. 1761 in prob. Schenectady, Schenectady, NY.
17. Anna Van Vorst, born Bef. 22 Oct 1732 in Schenectady, Schenectady, NY (baptism); died Jul 1789 in Fredericksburgh, Prince Edward, ONTARIO.
18. Abraham Dafoe, born Bef. 11 May 1755 in Albany, Albany County, NY (baptism); died 1815 in Fredericksburgh, Lennox and Addlington County, Ontario, CANADA. He married About 1775 in NY.
19. Katreen/Catherina Diamond, born About 1755 in NY.

24. Jacob Sovereign, born 06 Nov 1759 in Schooley's Mountain, Warren, NJ. He married 01 Mar 1781 in Oldwick, Morris, NJ.
25. Elizabeth Pickle, born 03 Nov 1764 in NJ; died 02 Jan 1849 in Delhi, Norfolk, CANADA WEST.
26. William Hutchinson, died in Walsingham, Norfolk County, Ontario, CANADA. He married About 1784 in St. John's, New Brunswick, CANADA.
27. Catherine Lewis, born About 1761 in NY.
28. Peter Putman, born About 1760 in Sussex County, NJ; died 03 Oct 1835 in Barrington, Yates County, NY. He married 20 Mar 1780 in Wantage, Sussex County, NJ.
29. Sarah Mary Kinnan, born Jun 1761 in Wantage, Sussex County, NJ; died 22 Nov 1841 in Springwater, Livingston County, NY.

Generation No. 6

34. Jacobus Van Vorst, born Bef. 12 Dec 1703 in prob. Schenectady, Albany County, NY (baptism); died Aft. 06 Dec 1790 in Schenectady, Albany County, NY (will written). . He married 14 Feb 1727/28 in Albany, Albany County, NY.
35. Anna Beck, born Bef. 07 Oct 1704 in Schenectady, Albany County, NY (baptism).
36. Johann Ernst Dafoe, born About 1726 in NY; died 1784 in St. Jean, QUEBEC. He married 01 Feb 1748/49 in Germantown, Columbia County, NY.
37. Maria Keller, born 27 Mar 1729 in Loonenburg (now Athens), Greene County, NY; died 12 Aug 1789 in Fredericksburgh, Lennox and Addlington County, ONTARIO, CANADA.
38. John Diamond He married
39. Christiana Loyst

48. Frederick Zavering/Sovereen, born About 1715 in prob. GERMANY; died 25 Oct 1805 in Waterford, Norfolk Co, Upper Canada. He married Bef. 1757 in prob. GERMANY.
49. Ann Waldruff, born Bef. 1739 in Prob. GERMANY; died Bef. 1768 in Prob. Morris County, NJ.
50. Henry Pickel, born 15 Feb 1728/29 in Somerset County, NJ; died 05 Dec 1765 in Hunterdon County, NJ. He married.
51. Elizabeth, born About 1731.

56. Victor Putman, born Bef. 09 Apr 1721 in Monmouth County, NJ (baptism); died in Sussex County, NJ. He married About 1745 in NJ.
57. Margaret Wies
58. John Kinnan, born About 1736 in of Wantage, Sussex County, NJ. He married 59. Martha Morrison, born in of Wantage, Sussex County, NJ.

-----------------------------------

A more complete Ahnentafel report for these families, with the listings of children of these ancestors, can be found at "Ancestors of Emily Kemp Auble."

Are there any cousins in genealogy-blog-land who share these families? Can you add information to this list? If so, please contact me at rjseaver(at)cox.net.

Ahnentafel for Charles Auble (1849-1916)

Here is post #3 of the ahnentafel lists for my 8 great-grandparents. I chose to list only six generations because of the potential length of the post.

---------------------------------------

Ancestors of Charles Auble

Generation No. 1


1. Charles Auble, born 31 Oct 1849 in prob. Newton, Sussex County, NJ; died 23 Mar 1916 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA (CA DI). He married (1) Georgianna/Georgia Kemp 19 Jun 1898 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI (WI MI). She was born 04 Aug 1868 in prob. Middleton, Norfolk County, ONTARIO, and died 08 Nov 1952 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA (CA DI).

Generation No. 2

2. David Auble, born 1817 in Stillwater, Sussex County, NJ; died 22 Mar 1894 in Terre Haute, Vigo County, IN (VR Index). He married About 1844 in Newton, Sussex County, NJ.
3. Sarah G. Knapp, born Jan 1818 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ; died Aft. 1900 in prob. Bushnell, McDonough County, IL.

Generation No. 3

4. Johannes/John Able/Auble, born 11 Mar 1780 in Burlington, Hunterdon County, NJ. He married 15 Jul 1804 in New Germantown, Hunterdon County, NJ.
5. Anna Rau/Row, born About 1787 in Morris County, NJ; died 12 Jun 1860 in Stillwater, Sussex County, NJ.
6. William Knapp, born 1775 in Dutchess County, NY; died 16 Jun 1857 in Newton, Sussex County, NJ. He married About 1804 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ.
7. Sarah Cutter, born 06 Nov 1785 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ; died 06 Mar 1878 in Hackensack, Bergen County, NJ (gravestone).

Generation No. 4

8. Johannes Able, born About 1758 in Morris County, NJ; died About 1818 in Sussex County, NJ. He married 30 Jan 1777 in Oldwick, Hunterdon County, NJ (CR).
9. Sophia Trimmer, born 1747 in Hunterdon County, NJ; died Bef. 1811 in Sussex County, NJ.
10. Philip Jacob Rau/Row, born About Dec 1752 in prob. NJ; died 09 Jan 1817 in Tewksbury, Hunterdon County, NJ. He married Jul 1772 in prob. Hunterdon County, NJ.
11. Maria/Mary Smith, born About Nov 1753 in prob. NJ; died About 1842 in Hunterdon County, NJ.

14. Stephen Cutter, born 10 Feb 1744/45 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ; died 21 Jun 1823 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ. He married About 1769 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
15. Tabitha Randolph, born Bef. 06 Sep 1761 in Elizabeth, Union, NJ (baptism); died 26 Nov 1841 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.

Generation No. 5

16. Michael Able, born About 1719 in GERMANY; died 26 Feb 1791 in Roxbury, Morris, NJ. He married Bef. 1757 in NJ.
17. Christina, died 1804 in prob. Roxbury, Morris, NJ.
18. Matthias Trimmer, died Bef. 10 Mar 1793 in Readington, Morris, NJ. He married
19. Anna Martha Neighbor

28. William Cutter, born About 1722 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ; died 14 Feb 1780 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ. He married Bef. 1744 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
29. Mary Kent, born About 1726 in Prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ; died in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
30. Samuel Fitz Randolph, born About 1730 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ. He married 20 Oct 1750 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
31. Martha Gach, born 29 Nov 1729 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.

Generation No. 6

32. Andreas Able, born in GERMANY; died 09 Apr 1751 in Roxbury, Morris, NJ. He married
33. Maria, died Apr 1771 in Roxbury, Morris, NJ.

36. Johannes Trimmer, born About 1700 in of Feldkirchen, Palatinate, GERMANY; died Jan 1748/49 in Amwell, Hunterdon, NJ. He married Bef. 1720 in GERMANY.
37. Mary
38. Johann Leonhard Nachbar, born 24 Mar 1699/00 in Hinzweiler, Palatinate, GERMANY; died 26 Aug 1766 in German Valley, Morris, NJ. He married Bef. 1741 in NJ.
39. Maria Margaretha, born About 1698 in GERMANY; died 17 Nov 1770 in German Valley, Morris, NJ.

56. Richard Cutter, born 13 Nov 1682 in Cambridge, Middlesex, MA; died 17 Dec 1756 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ. He married About 1722 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
57. Marcy Kelsey, born About 1698 in Elizabethtown, Union County, NJ; died Bef. 28 May 1760 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ.

60. Jacob Fitz Randolph, born 23 Mar 1707/08 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ; died Bef. 09 Aug 1779 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ. He married Bef. 1730 in prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
61. (unknown), died Bef. 1764 in Prob. Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
62. Thomas Gach, born 1702 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ; died Bef. 09 Mar 1770 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ. He married 17 Aug 1721 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, NJ.
63. Elizabeth Bloodgood, born 29 May 1703 in Flushing, Queens, NY.

------------------------------------
A more complete Ahnentafel report for these families, with the listings of children of these ancestors, can be found at "Ancestors of Emily Kemp Auble."

Are there any cousins in genealogy-blog-land who share these families? Can you add information to this list? If so, please contact me at rjseaver(at)cox.net.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Family Tree Legends Records

With the acquisition of Pearl Street Software by MyHeritage.com, the record collection at Family Tree Legends is now FREE. They claim that there are over 400 million records on this web site.

The search box for the records is at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records.

There are records in five categories:

* Birth, marriage, death and other records -- see the list at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/list/1. There are 31 record sets here, most of them for US states.

* Military Records -- see the list at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/list/2. There are 76 different record sets here, many of them from the UK.

* Land, Court and Probate Records - see the list at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/list/3. There are few records on this list.

* Biography and History - see the list at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/list/4. There are hundreds of books available here.

* Geography and Reference - see the list at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/list/5. There are hundreds of records here.

When you input a surname in the search box, you get a summary of the matches in each category.

I have not compared these records to what is available on Ancestry.com or other subscription sites. I did notice that many of the vital records sets are available on Ancestry.com - notably the California Birth Index 1905-1995. Some of them are available for free on other web sites.

Looking at the list of the Biography and History records, it struck me that I had not heard of many of them before - perhaps this is the only place that they are available - subscription or free.

Checking this site for your ancestral families is recommended since the records are free.

I wanna go cruising too!

Dick Eastman has a great blog post today titled "Genealogy Cruise Season Has Begun." There are three cruises scheduled in the next 8 weeks, and Dick is on all of them! The three are:

* Legacy Family Tree cruise from Vancouver BC to Hawaii, departing on 19 September for 13 days.

* Wholly Genes (TMG) cruise leaves Fort Lauderdale on 28 October for the eastern Caribbean island over 7 days.

* The RootsMagic cruise will leave Fort Lauderdale on 11 November for a 7 day cruise to the eastern Caribbean.

Dick has information about and links to each of these cruises. They sure sound like a lot of fun. I'm envious!

Unfortunately, I'm booked to do grandfather and genealogy duties for these time periods. Drat. I really need to plan ahead better, I guess.

The Legacy Family Tree cruise in 2008 is 12 days on the English Channel and the Baltic Sea - leaving London and visiting Copenhagen, Berlin, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm before returning to London.

That really sounds like fun to me! We could even take another week and go visit our exchange daughter and her family in Oulu in Finland. We could go tromp around Sogndal in Norway for the other half of Linda's Norwegian ancestry. In London we could visit my Vaux cousin who lives there and go visit Somersetshire to see the places that my Vaux family lived.

Ah, the cost: The fares appear to range from $2,050 per person (double room) to over $25,000 per person. Plus air fare to and from London. So, it's a minimum of about $7,000 for two for a 12 day cruise and a 14 day vacation.

It does sound like a great time. The cruise link above lists the genealogy presentations planned - there are 7 talks on the three days that the ship is at sea.

We need to start saving our pennies - if both of us go, we only need to save about $15 per day! Let's see - cancel the cable TV and computer, cancel the Padres season tickets, cancel lunches out - eat peanut butter sandwiches. Should I warn Angel Linda about my diabolical plan? Heck, she spends almost $15 every day on lunch! Oh, the hardship! I would have to stop blogging, which might not be all bad timewise. Or we could spend a part of the grandchildren's inheritance! Works for me, and they are still too young to complain.