Saturday, May 5, 2012

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A 100 Word Genealogy Challenge

It's SATURDAY NIGHT - and time for more GENEALOGY FUN!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to (and I hope that you will rise to the occasion here):
This SNGF is based on the 100 Word Challenge (http://100wc.net/) that school children are participating in around the world.  They are given a word or phrase to write a story about in one hundred words.

1)  Write a story using the phrase "ancestor I most admire" in 100 words.  [Hint:  If you write it in a word processor, you can use Tools > Word Count (or similar) to count words]

2)  Share the story with all of us by writing your own blog post, writing a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Google Plus Stream or Facebook Status or Note.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

NOTE:  Saturday Night Genealogy Fun will be "dark" for the next two weekends because we're going on vacation and I will be without Internet access most of the time.  If you absolutely have to do SNGF on Saturday night, then go to http://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/SNGF and do one or more challenges!

Here's mine:



Isaac Seaver (1823-1901), my second great-grandfather, is the ancestor I most admire. Isaac grew up in Westminster, Mass, and his father, Benjamin, died when he was almost two years old. He married Juliet Glazier, but she died in 1847 in childbirth, leaving one child. Isaac married Lucretia Smith in 1851 and they had four children. Isaac was a blacksmith, enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1864 and served during the Civil War. Lucretia died in 1884, and Isaac married Alvina Lewis in 1888. He died in Leominster, Mass. in 1901. Isaac overcame many life challenges, persevered and was a successful man.

100 words exactly.  

I'll see you all in two weeks!


Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - HAMANT (England > Massachusetts)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  I am up  to number 445, Melatiah Hamant (1704-1751). [Note: The 6th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts] 

My ancestral line back through three generations of HAMANT ancestral families is

1. Randall J. Seaver

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


6.  Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7.  Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)

12.  Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946)
13.  Abbie Ardell Smith (1863-1944)

26.  Devier James Lamphier Smith (1839-1894)
27.  Abbie A. Vaux (1844-1931)

54.   Samuel Vaux (1816-after 1880) 
55.  Mary Ann Underhill (1815-after 1880)

110.  Amos Underhill (1772-1865)
111. Mary Metcalf (1780-ca 1860)


222.  Burgess Metcalf (1741-1816)
223.  Jerusha (ca 1750-1817)

444.  Michael Metcalf, born 12 August 1706 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 1771 in Keene, Cheshire, New Hampshire, United States.  He was the son of 888. Michael Metcalf and 889. Lydia White.  He married  02 July 1728 in Medway, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.
445.  Melatiah Hamant, born 26 May 1704 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 30 December 1751 in Keene, Cheshire, New Hampshire, United States.  

Children of Michael Metcalf and Melatiah Hamant are:  Oliver Metcalf (1729-1797); Michael Metcalf (1730-1777); Melatiah Metcalf (1732-1766); Amity Metcalf (1734-????); Abijah Metcalf (1735-1815); Sarah Metcalf (1737-????); Burgess Metcalf (1741-1816); Silas Metcalf (1745-????).

890.  Timothy Hamant, born 01 November 1667 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 1718 in Arrowsic, Sagadahoc, Maine, United States.  He married 19 January 1696 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.
891.  Melatiah Clark, born 04 August 1674 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 23 November 1747 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 1782. Ephraim Clark and 1783. Mary Bullen.

Children of Timothy Hamant and Melatiah Clark are:  Timothy Hamant (1699-1774); Samuel Hamant (1701-1755); Melatiah Hamant (1704-1751); Mehitable (1706-1727); Abiel Hamant (1708-1783).

1780.  Francis Hamant, born about 1625 in England; died 27 July 1692 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  He married about 1650 in probably Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.
1781.  Sarah, born about 1629 in England; died 29 September 1708 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Francis Hamant and Sarah are:  John Hamant (1651-1708); Mary Hamant (1653-1738); Sarah Hamant (1655-????); Elizabeth Hamant (1659-1733); Hannah Hamant (1660-????); Samuel Hamant (1663-????); Timothy Hamant (1667-1718); Abigail Hamant (1669-1741).

My references for this family are all older resources, including:

1.  Frederick Stam Hammond, History and Genealogies of the Hammond Families in America,published Oneida, NY, Ryan & Burkhart, Printers, 1902, pages 420 and following.

2.  William S. Tilden (editor), History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886, published Boston, Mass., Geo. H. Ellis, 1887. 

3.  Town vital record books of Medfield, Walpole, and other "tan books" published in the`1900 to 1930 time frame.

I actually have two lines from Francis Hamant.  The other line is Patience Hamant (see Surname Saturday - HAMANT (England > Massachusetts).  My ancestry from Patience Hamant is in my father's ancestry, so this makes my mother and my father 7th cousins. 


The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/surname-saturday-hamant-england.html

copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Friday, May 4, 2012

New Hint Notifications on Ancestry Member Trees

The Ancestry.com Blog posted Introducing Hint Notifications and Preferences yesterday.  See the blog post to understand just what this is and how it works.

I decided to take a look at it, and see what I could find on my Ancestry Member Tree.  I chose the Randy Seaver's Genealogy Database and saw lots of green shaky leaves on my tree:


Up on the very top of the screen, above the menu line, and over on the right next to my Ancestry user name and photo, is a new green leaf with a red number next to it.  That is the number of notifications (recent hints) since the last time I checked them (which was yesterday).

I clicked on the green leaf and saw a list of hints:


Over on the left side of the screen above is a list of Hint types.  For this tree, I have:

*  3395 People with Hints
*  All Hints = 6367
*  Record Hints = 5120
*  Photo Hints = 44
*  Story Hints = 13
*  Member Tree Hints = 1190.

Hmmm, I think that I have not checked all of the Hints for this tree recently!

On the screen above, the Hints are listed on the right side of the screen by the Most Recent (last day, last week, last month, etc.).  I can choose "First Name" or "Last Name" from a dropdown menu.  I can Filter the Hints by typing in a first name, and/or a last name, or all last names by first letter.

The type of Record Hints in the first 20 hints include records from the American Genealogical-Biographical Index, Massachusetts Town vital Record Collections, Family Data Collection, Millenium File Collection, US and International Marriage Records, Massachusetts Marriages, 1930 U.S. Federal Census, California Death Index, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, New Hampshire Births and Christenings, Massachusetts, Find-a-Grave Index, SAR Membership Applications, and 1940 U.S. Federal Census.

The user can click on the Record Hint name and see the Ancestry.com record summary and then click on the record image if it's available. The user can Review the Hint also which compares the information in your tree with what is in the Record summary.  The user can choose to ignore the Hint.  The "Review Hint" link has a dropdown list for "View Record," "View all Hints," "View Profile" and "View Tree."

My first reaction is "What a haul of record Hints."  But what should I do with them?  I'm resisting attaching them to persons in this online tree because it is not synced to a Family Tree Maker 2012 database, and this database is not up to date - in fact, it's three years old.  I have much more data in my RootsMagic database now.  However, I can review the Hints and see if there are records that I should capture, save in my Surname file system on my computer, and enter the data, with the source, to persons in my RootsMagic database.  Another project to pursue!!  Just what I need...

I was curious about the Photos and Story sections.  Have other researchers found photos or written stories about my ancestors?

Here is the Photos Hints list:


The Photos that have been attached to people who are in my tree (but the Photos are in other people's trees) include maps, coats-of-arms, crests, gravestones, flags, immigrant ships, logos, medallions, page images, houses, postcards, churches, announcements, documents, newspaper articles, family photos, etc.  I can choose to attach these Photos to persons in my tree, or I could right-click and capture the photo image to my computer files.

The Story Hints include a Find-a-Grave summary, family narrative, transcribed article from a journal, deed transcriptions, will and inventory transcriptions, etc.

The one item that I think came from my own online published material is this item for David Auble (1817-1894):


This was copied, I believe, from my Ancestors of Emily Kemp Auble page, with one addition made to it, presumably by the writer of the Story.  How do I know it's from my work?  Because it has certain features that I "seeded" into the report on the web page that are unique to my research.  Needless to say, I would have appreciated an attribution on this story.

This is a real treasure trove of items that might add to the knowledge base I have of my ancestral families.

All in all, I think that these new Hint Notifications on Ancestry Member Trees are a major addition to the Ancestry experience, and may make finding and being able to add content, and sources, to my family tree database easier.

I like that they are time-based, and that once I have accepted or rejected the Hint it disappears from the list.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/new-hint-notifications-on-ancestry.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Follow-Up Friday - Reader Comments and Helpful Tips

It's Friday, so time for another post with useful and helpful reader comments.

1)  On Treasure Chest Thursday - 1851 English Census Record for James Richman Family, I had two helpful comments:

*  Audrey Collins wrote:  "Randy, the correct citation for your census page is HO 107/1840 folio 254 page 21. This is the unique identifier for this page, whether you are using microfilm or a website (or on very rare occasions the fragile original books, produced as a last resort when the film or scan is illegible). 

"Most people access the 1851 census using Ancestry (The National Archives licensed partner for this census) and it is a requirement that census pages should be accessible online using the full document reference on licensed partner sites. You may need to switch to 'Old search' to do this on Ancestry. You can also use the full reference on Findmypast.uk. Other sites that carry the England and Wales census may offer the same facility, but I am only really familiar with Ancestry and FMP.

"I was interested in your earlier post where you compared the search facilities for the 1851 census on a number of sites. A direct search on Findmypast.co.uk would have suited your requirements; the free search on the free search facility gives enough detail for you to identify the right entry, and you don't need a subscription to access the image because FMP always offer a pay-per-view option. This is also a feature of their US site Findmypast.com which only offers US census material at the moment, but they have plans to add UK censuses in future."


*  David Newton commented:  "To further expand on census references, that style of reference will work for all censuses from 1851 to 1901, just varying the series, piece, folio and page numbers. The 1841 census requires one more thing for a unique reference, that being the inclusion of the details of the book the information came from. The 1911 census by contrast just needs the series number, the piece number and the schedule number for it to be a unique reference.  The full footnote for your reference would be:

"The National Archives of the United Kingdom, "1851 Census of England and Wales," HO 107/1840, folio 254, page 21.

"The short footnote for your reference would be:  TNA, HO 107/1840, f 254, p 21.

"One thing where Kew is infinitely better than NARA is its catalogue references. It has a consistent reference system that is also concise. They also provide clear guidelines on their website as to how things should be cited."


My comments:  

*  I don't have access to the England and Wales census records through Ancestry.com or FindMyPast.  The information from Audrey about the search on FindMyPast is very helpful.  I have not used the pay-per-view option on FMP.  Most of my England census images to date have been obtained directly from the FHL microfilms, from using Ancestry.com at the FHC, or from the Archives.com site.  

*  The source citations that I created were from Evidence! Explained (or the source templates in RootsMagic 5 based on EE models).  I'm not smart enough to create them myself.  I consider EE to be the "US standard" for genealogical source citations, but recognize that researchers in other countries have their own systems.  One of the basic principles for the EE models is that the source citation cite the source used, so that a reader can easily find the information found, which is why I cited the microfilm and the Archives.com image rather than just the The National Archives citation.  In this case, the "source of the source" is The National Archives pages as cited by David.  

*  I'm looking forward to the USA FindMyPast.com site with England census records in the future.  I also hope that Archives.com will improve their site so that browsing page by page in these records can be performed.


*  David Newton said:  "Another good bet to find out what you might want is FreeCen. That will not provide a copy of the image, but it will provide a full household transcription and the reference to find the image. You could then input that reference into Archives.com to pull up the image. FreeCen also extends to Scotland. It is far from complete, but it is the best free option around.

"It should also be noted that what Randy has said only applies to England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Scotland and Ireland are separate cases. The only place to find images of Scottish censuses is the Scotslandspeople website and the images are very expensive and only available on a pay-per-view basis. Ireland only has two censuses available as the rest were destroyed at various points. The Irish National Archives have digitised and indexed both censuses with the resources available for free."


My comments:  Thank you, David.  I forgot about FreeCen and will try to visit them soon, at least for the transcriptions.  The Scotland and Ireland information is very useful too.



*  Michael McCormick noted:  "The video description links to AncestryDNA.com where we learn that tests will cost just $99 for Ancestry.com subscribers. Sounds like 1/3 the cost of my other autosomal DNA test. It also says I will get a message to invite me to take the test eventually when it is my turn... they have high demand they say."

*  CeCe Moore responded:  "Michael, 1/3 of the cost for less than 1/3 of the information. AncestryDNA is not providing any of the underlying genetic data, including the specific matching segments and the raw data. I'm sure they will have high demand, but many will be disappointed in what they get."

My comment:  I was a day early with this post, so I didn't know the cost when I wrote it.  CeCe hits the main complaint that I have - there is no information about specific matching segments in the matches.  FamilyTreeDNA provides these matching segments.  AncestryDNA does not.

It seems to me that a new product needs to add a difference maker, and the difference maker for AncestryDNA is the links to the family trees of matching persons.  It would be great if AncestryDNA provided information about the specific matching segments in the future.

The $99 cost is certainly attractive for Ancestry.com subscribers.  It may lead to a reduction in prices for the competitors.


*  Donna Peterson noted that she was on the Legacy cruise also, and offered her suggestions for shore excursions.  Thanks!

*  Jo provided some links to tour sites in Scotland.  Thanks, Jo!

*  Kay emailed that she was also on the cruise.  

It looks like we'll have at least four geneabloggers on board (I'm counting Geoff Rasmussen here).  We can have our own meetup! It's great when you have friends on a cruise!


Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Planning More Genealogy Fun - Searching for John Seaver's Parents

In Tuesday's post, Committing Genealogy Fun - Helping a CorrespondentI found the parents of a Lola Seaver who was not in my Seaver database.  George F. and Hannah R. (Ham) Seaver were the parents of Lola M. Seaver and William H. Seaver (and three other children).  Yesterday, in Committing Genealogy Fun - Part 2, I found that George's parents were John D. and Sarah (Maddox) Seaver, and that John was born in 1798 in Worcester, Massachusetts to John and Phebe Seaver.

However, I don't have a John Seaver in  my database who married a Phebe in Worcester County, Massachusetts in that time frame.  In the second post, I noted that I do have a Nathan and Phebe (Smith) Seaver who were having children in Worcester, Massachusetts between 1794 and 1803, and a 1798 birth of John Seaver would fit right into this family.

How can I determine who the parents are of John Seaver (1798-1861)?  Here is what I've come up with so far for evidence gathering:

1)  Search for more information about John and Sarah (Maddox) Seaver:

*  Search Ancestry Member Trees and Rootsweb WorldConnect for them.
*  Search for John Seaver and Sarah Seaver's gravestones on Find-a-Grave and Interment.net 
*  Search the USGenWeb Archives for references to them.
*  Search on FamilySearch.org for records of them.
*  Search Ancestry, Fold3, WorldVitalRecords, and Archives.com for town, vital, church, census, military and other records for them.
*  Do a Google search using "john seaver" "seaver john" and "john * seaver" plus "portsmouth."  Do it again with "sever" instead of "seaver."  This should uncover Google Books and Internet Archive book matches.
*  Search the BYU Family History Archives books.
*  Search for newspaper articles on Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank and Chronicling America.
*  Search the FHL catalog for Portsmouth, Rockingham County and New Hampshire town, vital, church, probate, land, tax and other records.  Review indexes and records on microfilm.
*  Search the FHL catalog for Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts town, vital, church, probate, land, tax and other records.  Review indexes and records on microfilm.

2)  Search for information about Nathan and Persis (Smith) Seaver:

*  Search Ancestry Member Trees and Rootsweb WorldConnect for them..
*  Search for Nathan Seaver and Persis Seaver's gravestone on Find-a-Grave and Interment.net.  
*  Search on FamilySearch.org for records of them.
*  Search Ancestry, Fold3, WorldVitalRecords, and Archives.com for town, vital, church, census, military and other records for them.
*  Search the USGenWeb Archives for references to them.
*  Do a Google search using "nathan seaver" "seaver nathan" plus "worcester."  Do it again with "sever" instead of "seaver."
*  Search the BYU Family History Archives books.
*  Search for newspaper articles on Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank and Chronicling America.
*  Search the FHL catalog for Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts town, vital, church, probate, land, yax and other records.  Review indexes and records on microfilm.

3)  Broaden the search in Worcester County, Massachusetts for records of a John Seaver who married a Persis.

What other online, microfilm or book records should I search for and review?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/planning-more-genealogy-fun-searching.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

AncestryDNA Autosomal Test is $99 for Ancestry Subscribers

Ancestry.com announced today that their autosomal DNA product was launched, and the price is $99 for Ancestry.com subscribers.  Subscribers will be invited to participate in the test.  The press release can be read at Ancestry.com Launches new AncestryDNA Service: The Next Generation of DNA Science Poised to Enrich Family History Research.  The release describes the test as:

"The new DNA test analyzes a person’s genome at over 700,000 marker locations, cross referencing an extensive worldwide DNA database with the aim of providing exciting insights into their ethnic backgrounds and helping them find distant cousins who may hold the keys to exciting family history discoveries. By combining these genetic matches with Ancestry.com’s 34 million family trees and 9 billion records, AncestryDNA intends to provide a differentiated experience that helps find common ancestors dating back as far as the middle 18th Century. "

There is quite a bit more information on the AncestryDNA web page at http://dna.ancestry.com/aboutDNA.aspx:



The video is different from the YouTube video I posted yesterday (http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/ancestrydna-video-on-youtube.html).  

I have taken this test already, and have described my results in Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Tests - Post 1 and Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Test - Post 2.

I was surprised by the price of the test.  A similar autosomal DNA test on FamilyTreeDNA is $289.  An autosomal test on Ancestry.com for $99 is certainly a good reason to subscribe if you have not done so, and a reward for current subscribers.

The press release announces that:

 "In March, Ancestry.com DNA, LLC acquired access to an extensive collection of DNA assets from Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, a non-profit organization. Founded by molecular genealogy pioneer, James LeVoy Sorenson, this organization has been dedicated to building the world's foremost collection of DNA samples and corresponding genealogical information. Over the last 12 years, the Sorenson Foundation collected a one-of-a-kind DNA database of tens of thousands of DNA samples with documented family histories in more than 100 countries on six continents. This DNA database gives AncestryDNA test-takers an expanded family history genetic resource, and should enable new levels of discovery about people’s family backgrounds."

CeCe Moore has a discussion of this acquisition in Ancestry.com Buys GeneTree (Another Competitor) and Launches Their New Autosomal DNA Product to Subscribers on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog.


I have some questions about this test:


1)  Will AncestryDNA be providing comparisons of marker string matches on different chromosomes similar to what other companies provide?  If not, why not?

2)  I had both Y-DNA and mtDNA tests done by SMGF and GeneTree. What will happen to that information about my DNA?  Can I link it to my Ancestry Member Tree also?  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/ancestrydna-autosomal-test-is-99-for.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Treasure Chest Thursday - 1851 English Census Record for James Richman Family


It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to share an artifact or a document image from my collection of ancestral stuff.

The treasure today is the 1851 English Census record for the James Richman family in Hilperton, Wiltshire.




The information for the James Richman family on this census record is:

*  Parish or township of:  Hilperton
*  Village of: Hilperton
*  No. of Household Schedule: 88
*  Name of Street, Place, or Road, and Name or No. of House: Hilperton
*  Name and Surname of each Person who abode in this house, on the Night of the 30th March, 1851:
*  Relation to Head of Family
*  Condition:
*  Age of Male/Female:
*  Rank Profession or Occupation:
*  Where Born:


**  James Richman - Head, Mar[ried], Male, 29, Coal Merchant Lab[ou]r, Wilts. Marsh
**  Hannah Richman - Wife, Mar[ried], Female, 25, Woolen Weaver, Wilts. Marsh
**  Thomas Richman - Son, ---, 2, male, ---, Wilts, Marsh
**  James Richman - Son, ---, 1, male, ---, Wilts. Marsh

I first obtained this record from a Family History Library microfilm, so the source citation I have is:


1851 Census of England, Wiltshire, Hilperton [parish], District 257, Folio 254 verso, household 88, James Richman household; Public Record Office HO 107/1840, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah; FHL BRITISH microfilm 220,987.

However, I obtained the census image above from the UK Census database on Archives.com, so a reference note citation for that image is:


1851 England and Wales Census, Hilperton (Village), Wiltshire, Hilperton [parish], page 21 (penned), household 88, James Richman, Public Record Office HO 107/1840;  online image, Archives.com (www.archives.com : accessed 30 April 2012).

Those are probably not "perfect" but they're probably "good enough."  I developed them in RootsMagic 5 source templates, but they do not match the Evidence! Explained models exactly for some reason (pages 301 to 305 of the First Edition).

James and Hannah (Rich) Richman are my second great-grandparents, and migrated to the United States in 1855/6 with their children.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/treasure-chest-thursday-1851-english.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Committing Genealogy Fun - Part 2

In yesterday's post, Committing Genealogy Fun - Helping a Correspondent, I found the parents of a Lola Seaver who was not in my Seaver database.  George F. and Hannah R. (Ham) Seaver were the parents of Lola M. Seaver and William H. Seaver (and three other children).

At the end of the post, I found that George F. Seaver had died in 1902 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire.  The death record indicated that his parents were John D. Seaver and Sarah Maddox.  They were not in my database, either.  I needed to do more research.  Here is what I found:

1)  Since George was born in 1835, in either Maine or New Hampshire, he may have been with his parents John and Sarah in the 1850 U.S. Census.  A search on Ancestry.com for Geo* Se*ver born between 1834-1838 produced 11 matches.  The last one was for a George Traver (but someone had added a correction to the index as George Seaver), age 14, born in New Hampshire, enumerated in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire (1850 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Portsmouth: Page 51A, Family #755, John Seaver (Indexed as Traver) household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 437).

Is this my guy?



The surname looks like Seaver rather than Traver.  The father is John (age 50), the mother is Sarah (age 47), and the children are Ellen (age 16), George (age 14) and John (age 12), all born in New Hampshire.

At this point, I don't know if this is the right family, but it is a real possibility.  More searching through the George Seaver list reveals no other parents named John and Sarah.  More searches with wild cards for the surname (Sever, Se*ers, S*ver*, Lev*, Leav*, etc.) finds no other George guys with parents John and Sarah.

I decided to track down this particular John Seaver.  I now had an approximate birth year of 1800 in New Hampshire.

2)  A check of the New Hampshire Marriage records on FamilySearch did not find a marriage for John Seaver and Sarah Maddox.  However, a search in the Maine Marriages on FamilySearch turned up their marriage on 1 March 1833 in Alfred, York, Maine (not too far from Portsmouth!).  There was no age, birth place or parents names provided on the record ("Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," online database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org), John Seaver and Sarah Maddox entry).

3)  A search of the New Hampshire Death records on FamilySearch found a death record for John Seaver on 18 April 1861 in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire ("New Hampshire Death Records, 1654-1947," online database, FamilySearch International (http://FamilySearch.org), 2010. citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. “Death certificates, 1901-1937," "New Hampshire Statewide Death Records, 1938-1947," "New Hampshire Statewide Death Records Early to 1900." Bureau of Vital Records, Concord. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah., John Seaver entry.)


The information here is:

Name:  John Seaver
Place of Death: Portsmouth
Date of death:  Apl. 16 1861
Age: Years 62, Months, 8, Days, 3
Place of birth:  Worcester, Mass.
Sex: Male
Color: White
Married, Single, widowed or divorced:  Married
Occupation:  Laborer
Cause of Death: Typhoid Fever
Name of Father: John Seaver
Maiden Name of Mother: Persis
Birthplace of Father: Holden, Mass.
Birthplace of Mother: Holden, Mass.

The age at death works out to a birth date of 13 August 1798.  This record provides a birthplace and parents names for this John Seaver.

4)  A check of my database shows that I have no John Seaver born in 1798 in Worcester, or anywhere in Worcester County.  A check of my database shows that I have no John Seaver born in Holden, Massachusetts either.  I do have several Persis females that married Seaver, however.

One of them is Persis Smith (born 1766 in Worcester) who married 8 December 1791 in Holden, Massachusetts to Nathan Seaver (born 1769 in Westborough, Mass.).  Nathan is the son of Moses and Lucy (Carril) Seaver, who had 8 children between 1759 and 1779 in Framingham, Hopkinton, Westborough and Worcester.  Ephraim Seaver (1767-1834) married in 1803 and had two children in Shrewsbury.  Edward Seaver (1770-????) married in 1793 and had 7 children between 1794 and 1803, including one in January, 1798.  Moses Seaver resided in Shrewsbury in the 1800 U.S. census and died there in 1809.

This family group is one of two Seaver family groups that resided in this part of Worcester County.  Nathan Seaver and Edward Seaver both resided in Worcester in the 1800 U.S. Census, and Nathan Sever resided there in the 1810 U.S. Census.  In the 1810 Census, Nathan had 4 male children under age 16.  The known male children of Nathan are Alexander (born ca 1785), Moses (born ca 1796), and Nathan (born 1800).  There is one more young male in the census record than in the known male children.

A John Seaver, born in 1798, fits neatly into this family, doesn't he?  He doesn't fit into the Ephraim or Edward Seaver families.

So where do I go from here?  I have an evidence problem - John D. Seaver's death record says his father is John Seaver born in Holden and his mother is Persis born in Holden.  If this is the right family, then his father was Nathan rather than John.  A quandary!

5)  My present conclusion is to leave this as an unattached person in my database, with sufficient notes to document my suspicions about his parentage.

The good news is that I've been able to add two more generations to my correspondent's Seaver lineage.  Another bit of good news is that I've made good progress on the mysterious John Seaver of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  I've known about him for twenty years, and finally have some more information about him.

What would you do about this research problem?  What records should I try to find that might help me resolve this problem?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/committing-genealogy-fun-part-2.html

copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

AncestryDNA Video On YouTube

A new Ancestry.com video titled "Introducing AncestryDNA" about their new autosomal DNA test is on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SgSpSmdjr7s)

The video can be played below:




I've posted about my testing experience and results in Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Tests - Post 1 and Results from Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA Test - Post 2.


There are still no information about when this will be offered to the general public nor what the cost of the autosomal test will be.


I checked my results again today and found few additions, and no closer cousin relationships than before.  


Hat tip to Tamura Jones who posted the video on his Google+ Stream.


The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/ancestrydna-video-on-youtube.html


Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver



(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 203: The Pink Oldsmobile

 I am posting photographs from my family collections for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday (you know me, I can't go wordless!).    

Here is a small photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family collection handed down by my mother in the 1988 to 2002 time period:  




This photograph was taken in 1958, probably by my mother, in front of the Marshall Chamberlain home at 4601 Terrace Drive in San Diego (I recognize the awnings!).

That is my father, Frederick Walton Seaver, proudly standing next to his brand new, PINK, Oldsmobile 88.   This was a four-door, roomy, comfortable, car for our family of five.  No seat belts, no air conditioning, no power windows.  

Why a PINK Oldsmobile?  I think that he got a good deal on it and was able to drive it off the lot.  

Our family took several driving trips to bowling tournaments in California in this car.  My father drove it all over San Diego for his work as an insurance agent, and it served as a great car for Little League equipment and players.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-203-pink.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Committing Genealogy Fun - Helping A Correspondent

After writing my first blog post this morning, I noticed that I had four unread messages on my Ancestry.com dashboard.  Three of them were from one person, who wanted to know if I had Lola Seaver in my genealogy database.  The correspondent knew that Lola was born in 1859 in New Hampshire, had married Roscoe Kilham, and had a daughter Elsie Florence born in 1892.

Not much to go on, but I went looking for more clues.  I thought it might be useful to my readers to see my research process using online genealogy resources:

1)  In the 1900 U.S. census, the Roscoe Kilham family (Lola and Elsie) resided in Boston 10th Ward, Suffolk County, Massachusetts (1900 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Boston Ward 10: ED 1304, Page 11A, Dwelling #114, Family #305, Roscoe Kilham household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T623, Roll 680.)  Elsie was age 8, Lola was age 40, born in NH.

The next family down, in the same dwelling, was William H. Seaver (age 24, born in Massachusetts) with wife Marie (age 22, born Massachusetts) (1900 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Boston Ward 10: ED 1304, Page 11A, Dwelling #114, Family #306, William H. Seaver household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T623, Roll 680.)

I wondered if this William H. Seaver was related to Lola Seaver.

2)  A birth record for Elsie Florence Kilham on 11 January 1892, with parents Roscoe G. and Lola M. Kilham, was in Boston records ("Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910," online database, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org), citing original data at Massachusetts State Archives, Births, Volume 413, Page 198, Boston: Elsie Florence Kilham entry.)

3)  I searched for a marriage record for Lola Seaver and Roscoe Kilham in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine records on Ancestry.com.  I found a marriage of Roscoe Kilham and Iola E. Seaver on 28 December 1892 in South Berwick, York, Maine ("Maine Marriage Records, 1705-1922," indexed database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com) : citing "Maine Marriage Records, 1705-1922," Maine State Archives, Augusta, Maine), Roscoe Kilham and Iola Seaver entry.)

Is it Iola or Lola Seaver?  I think it's Lola because my correspondent has more information than this one record.  It's an understandable error in a record transcription.

No parents names were listed.

4)  I searched for the marriage record of William H. Seaver in Massavchusetts, and found that he was married to Marie E. Carlton on 10 February 1896 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts.  His birth place was given as Haverhill, and his  parents names as George F. Seaver and Hannah R. Ham ("Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910," online database, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org), citing original data at Massachusetts State Archives, Marriages, Volume 460, Page 430, Lynn: William H. Seaver and Marie Carlton entry.)

5)  The birth record for William H. Seaver was also found in the Massachusetts Vital Records - he was born  8 February 1873 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts to George F. Seaver and Hannah Ham ("Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910," online database, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org), citing original data at Massachusetts State Archives, Births, Volume 250, Page 216, William H. Seaver entry.)

6)  The 1880 U.S. Census found Lola Seaver (age 20, born New Hampshire)  in the George F. (age 46, born New Hampshire) and Hannah Seaver (age 46, born New Hampshire) family in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, with siblings Ada, George, John B. and William H. Seaver (age 6, born Massachusetts) (1880 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Strafford County, New Hampshire, Dover: Page 36C, Dwelling #381, Family #382, George F. Seaver household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T9, Roll 769.)

7)  The 1870 U.S. Census found Lola Seaver (age 10, born New Hampshire) in the George F. (age 34, born New Hampshire)) and Hannah Seaver (age 36, born Maine) family in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts with siblings Ada, George F., and John (1870 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Essex County, Massachusetts , Haverhill: Page 781A, Dwelling #376, Family #573, Geo F. Seaver household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M593, Roll 608).

8)  The 1860 U.S. Census found Luala Seaver (age 9/12, born New Hampshire) in the Geo. F. (age 24, born Maine) and Hannah R. (age 26, born Maine) Seaver family in Somersworth, Strafford, New Hampshire, with siblings Ada and George (1860 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Strafford County, New Hampshire, Somersworth: Page 334, Dwelling #671, Family #765, George F. Seaver (indexed as Seavey) household; online image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M653, Roll 680).

8)  Having found that William's parents were George F. Seaver and Hannah R. Ham, and that Lola was listed as a daughter of George and Hannah in the 1880 U.S. census, I think that George F. and Hannah R. (Ham) Seaver are Lola's parents.

9)  I checked the New Hampshire Marriages on FamilySearch and did not find George Seaver.  I checked Hannah R. Ham and found a marriage on 17 June 1855 in Rochester, Strafford, New Hampshire on 17 June 1855.  No ages or birth places or parents names were listed (“New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637 to 1947,” online database, FamilySearch International (http://www.FamilySearch.org), 2009; citing “Marriage Records.” New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord. FHL microfilm, Hannah R. Ham and George F. Seaver entry.)

So, is it George F. Seaver or Seavey?  So far, I have the marriage entry and one census record as Seavey.  It's clearly the same family.

10) I checked the New Hampshire Deaths on FamilySearch and found George F. Seaver listed (born 15 February 1835 in Lebanon, Maine; died 9 January 1902 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire.  His parents were listed as John D. Seaver and Sarah Maddox ("New Hampshire Death Records, 1654-1947," online database, FamilySearch International (http://FamilySearch.org), 2010. citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. “Death certificates, 1901-1937," "New Hampshire Statewide Death Records, 1938-1947," "New Hampshire Statewide Death Records Early to 1900." Bureau of Vital Records, Concord. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah., George F. Seaver entry.)

Looks like the name was George Seaver based on all of the evidence gathered so far.

The next task is to identify George's father, John D. Seaver and see if I can connect him into my Seaver database.

Stay tuned.  Oh, my correspondent has a significant research task to find Hannah Ham's parents and I'll leave Sarah Maddox also for my correspondent.

This took about three hours to do the research (and another hour to write this post), and I'll do a bit more to find George's father, but I wanted to write it up, along with my sources.  Hopefully, some of my readers might be helped by the process and the online resources I listed.

I added all of these people to my genealogy database, along with the source citations and some notes about the records.

I should note that FamilySearch also has the Massachusetts Vital Records for 1841-1910, but I prefer the AmericanAncestors search now.  Ancestry.com also has the New Hampshire birth, marriage and death records.

I guess I've had my dose of Genealogy Fun today, haven't I?  I love the challenge of the genealogy hunt, and am becoming more disciplined in writing up the notes and sources.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/committing-genealogy-fun-helping.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday's Tip - Read GenealogyInTime Magazine

This week's Tuesday's Tip is to:  Read the articles in the FREE GenealogyInTime online magazine.

GenealogyInTime (http://www.genealogyintime.com/is a free online genealogy magazine with a genealogy search engine, a family tree search engine, lists of new genealogy databases, and many excellent articles in their archives.



The articles are listed by clicking on the "Articles" menu item on the screen above.  The Articles page is http://www.genealogyintime.com/genealogy-articles.html.



The Articles are separated into groups:

*  How to Get Started in Genealogy
*  How to Find Genealogy Records Online
*  Genealogy Brickwall Solutions
*  Important Genealogy Tools
*  Important Genealogy Trends
*  Genealogy Reference Shelf
*  Miscellaneous Stuff

I was curious about four Genealogy Brickwall Solutions articles - there are 100 tips in these articles that might help researchers break down one or more of their brick wall problems.  They're worth a look!

For instance, one of them is:

37. Widows Remarrying – Except for the last couple of decades, economic necessity usually required a widow with children to remarry fairly quickly. It was not uncommon for a woman would remarry within three to four months of the death of her late husband. As well, women usually picked the church where they were married. These two facts can be used to your advantage. One way to trace the marriage of a widow is to start with the local church records from the date of the wake of her late husband and read forward on a day-by-day basis. Don’t be surprised to find a wedding within six months. This trick also works backwards. Start on the wedding day of the widow and go backward in time a couple of months and you will probably find the details on the death of the previous husband.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/tuesdays-tip-read-genealogyintime.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Monday, April 30, 2012

Getting Ready to Travel...

Linda and I are excited to do some more genealogy travel.  Some of you are probably saying "Oh, they're going to Cincinnati for the National Genealogical Society conference on 10 to 13 May."

Um, no, we're going on the Legacy Family Tree sponsored cruise on the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas departing from Oslo, Norway on 12 May.

The schedule for our vacation is:

*  Wednesday, 9 May:  Fly from San Diego to London, then London to Oslo on British Airways.
*  Thursday, 10 May:  We arrive tonight, and we're staying in the Scandic Sjolyst hotel in Oslo.
*  Friday, 11 May:  A free day to recover from jet lag, do some sightseeing, and perhaps meet friends for dinner.


*  Saturday, 12 May:  Find our way to the cruise ship terminal, board the ship, and meet the Legacy group at 3 p.m.  The ship departs in the afternoon.
*  Sunday, 13 May:  at sea, but there are genealogy presentations in the morning.
*  Monday, 14 May:  Arrive at 8 a.m. at LeHavre.  We'll probably take a tour of Paris.  Ship departs at midnight.


*  Tuesday, 15 May: Arrive at Cherbourg at 7 a.m.  We'll probably take a Normandy Beaches tour.  The ship departs at 3 p.m.
*  Wednesday, 16 May:  Arrive at Dublin at 12 noon.  We'll probably take a Dublin tour.  The ship departs at 10 p.m.
*  Thursday, 17 May:  Arrive at Liverpool at 7:30 a.m.  We'll probably take some sort of tour.  The ship departs at 6:30 p.m.


*  Friday, 18 May:  At sea, but there are genealogy presentations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
*  Saturday, 19 May:  Arrive at Edinburgh at 8 a.m.  We'll probably take a city tour.  The ship departs at 6 p.m.
*  Sunday, 20 May:  At sea, but there are genealogy presentations from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.


*  Monday, Arrive at Oslo at 7 a.m.  We will transfer to the airport for our flight from Oslo to London to San Diego on British Airways.

I'll have more to post about the presentations in the next week or so.

Has anyone taken this cruise and have recommendations for the shore tours in Paris, Cherbourg, Dublin, Liverpool and Edinburgh?  Linda cannot walk much and is taking her walker so she can have support and can sit down when she wants to.

This should be fun.  We took the 2008 Celebrity cruise from New York to the Caribbean with The Master Genealogist team and had a great time.

One drawback is that Genea-Musings will not be posted on a regular basis.  I may schedule some posts for your entertainment before we go, but my email and Internet access will probably be very limited (like never?) on the ship since the Internet on cruise ships is usually very slow and costly.  If it is relatively cheap and fast, I'll probably spend some time every day or so using it.  My expectations are low!

The big question is "Will Randy be able to survive without Email, Interweb, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Google Reader, etc.?"  What do you think? ;)

When we get back, I have a presentation 30 May and another on 12 June, and we're going to the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank from 7 to 10 June.  I figured that one conference in the spring was enough this year!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/04/getting-ready-to-travel.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Finding U.K. Census Record Images

There are three U.S. based online historical record sites that I use to find census records - Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and Archives.com.  They also have collections from other countries, but only FamilySearch of those three provides free coverage.

My goal this morning was to obtain an image of the 1851 England and Wales Census for the James and Hannah (Rich) Richman family in Wiltshire, including my great-grandfather Thomas Richman (born in 1848).

1)  I started with Ancestry.com (a subscription site, but I have only a U.S. subscription).  I selected the 1851 England Census collection, which has an every-name index and linked images (if the user has a World subscription) and searched for "Richman" (exact) and saw:


There were 397 matches for all of England.  The matches provide a name, an estimated birth year and the County, but not the Town, parents or relationship.  I narrowed the search to "Wiltshire, England:"


There were 46 matches, which is more manageable.  What about for "Thomas Richman?"


There were 3 matches, including the likely candidate with an estimated birth date of 1849.

Since no town, birthplace, parents names, or relationship is listed without an Ancestry World subscription, Ancestry.com can only be used as a finding aid.

2)  FamilySearch.org (a free website) has an 1851 England and Wales Census collection (an index only).  I searched for "Richman" (exact) and saw:


There were 364 matches for this search, so I added a Residence term of "Wiltshire" to the search and received:


No matches - apparently the Residence field was not indexed for the FamilySearch collection.  What about "Hilperton?"  There are none for Hilperton either.

What about with a given name?  I searched for "Thomas Richman" (in all of England):


There were 16 matches, including the one for my Thomas Richman (found by clicking them until I found him):


The indexed information is name, age, gender, birthplace, relationship and record type.  There is no indication of the census enumeration place or a list of other family members.  The FamilySearch index is based on the FindMyPast subscription site, and a FindMyPast subscription is required to view the census image.  I don't have one.

I've found that the FamilySearch site is the most useless for my purposes, since an enumeration place is not provided.

3)  Archives.com (a subscription website) also has the 1851 U.K. Census in their collection.  I entered "Richman" in the Last Name field (exact) and there were no matches:


The First Name field is highlighted in yellow above, is a First Name required (even though the field doesn't indicate that it is?)  I added "Thomas" (exact) to the First Name field and received 4,455 matches.  Apparently, the "Exact" box doesn't work for first names!

I tried "Thomas" (exact), "Richman" (exact) and County = Wiltshire" and there were 5 matches:


The information provided here is the name, the birth year, birth location (county, not town), profession, and relationship to head).  The enumeration place, the parents names and the family members are not listed.

However, only two of the matches are a "Thomas Richman" - the others are a "Thomas Thomas."

My Thomas Richman born (estimated) in 1849 is the first match.  I clicked through to see the census image and a PDF file opened:


This image provides the census page and I can see all of the family members (James, Hannah, Thomas, and  James.

However, I cannot advance forward or backwards in the Archives.com collection to see other pages in the town or parish.

My conclusions from this short study are:

*  Ancestry.com, without a World subscription,  is useful to find persons of a first and last name in all of England, and a town or parish name, and a county name,  can be used to narrow the search.  Another option is to go to a FamilySearch Center and use the Ancestry collection there for free.

*  The search on FamilySearch .org for persons in the English census is very limited and pretty much useless at this time without a FindMyPast subscription.

*  The Search on Archives.com has some quirks (you need to use a given name, and the Exact search box doesn't always work as expected).

*  The census page image can be seen on Archives.com.

*  My recommendation for searchers with an Ancestry US subscription, and an Archives.com subscription,  is to use Ancestry.com to find candidates in English towns and counties, then to use Archives.com to find and save the images.

*  If you don't have an Ancestry.com subscription, or an Archives.com subscription, then your best bet is to go to a FamilySearch Center and use Ancestry.com on the computer system.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/04/finding-uk-census-record-images.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver