Saturday, August 29, 2015

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- The Wayback Machine

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 

time for some more Genealogy Fun!!



Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music):


1)  Do you have a website or a blog?  Or know someone with one?  Pick yours, or theirs or another.


2)  Now go to the Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/) and put the web site address in the search field.  Explore - see what the website looked like over time - start with the first available archived date and select others over the lifetime of the web site.  Make some screen shots to show your readers.

3)  Share your Wayback adventure with us in your own blog post, in a Facebook or google+ post.  Be sure to leave a link in a Comment on this blog.

Here's mine:

The Wayback Machine now starts for Genea-Musings (www.geneamusings.com) on 17 May 2008, although I have screen shots from before that date.  Here are some looks at Genea-Musings history:

*  16 May 2008:



*  7 March 2009:



*  30 June 2010:




*  7 February 2012:



*  21 June 2013:



As you can see, I experimented every year with different color combinations, and got a little fancier with a new Blogger template in 2012 and 2013.  The current template is very similar to the 2013 template - the major exception being the blog title (the font was causing problems with some browsers).

I'm still using the same picture I started with...and pretty much the same blog description and biography too.  I'm a creature of habit!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-wayback.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Surname Saturday - PRENCE (England to colonial Massachusetts)

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


I am in the 8th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #1151 who is Mercy PRENCE (1631-1711) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through two generations of this SNOW family line is:


1. Randall J. Seaver

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

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)

16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)
17. Lucretia Townsend Smith (1827-1884)

34. Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840)
35. Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869)


70.  Thomas Dill (1758-1836)
71.  Hannah Horton (1761-1797)

142.  Nathaniel Horton (1721-1763)
143.  Eunice Snow (1722-1816)

286.  Jabez Snow (1696-1760)
287.  Elizabeth Paine (1702-1772)

574.  John Paine (1661-1731)
575.  Bennett Freeman (1671-1716)

1150.  John Freeman, born before 28 January 1627 in Billingshurst, Sussex, England; died 28 October 1719 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 2300. Edmond Freeman and 2301. Bennett Hodsoll.  He married 13 February 1650 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.
1151.  Mercy Prence, born before 28 September 1631 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 28 September 1711 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of John Freeman and Mercy Prence are:
*  John Freeman (1650-1651).
*  John Freeman (1651-1721), married 1672 Sarah Merrick (1654-1696).
*  Thomas Freeman (1653-1716), married 1673 Rebecca Sparrow (1655-1740).
*  Edmund Freeman (1657-1717), married 1678 Ruth Merrick (1652-1686).
*  Mercy Freeman (1659-1745), married 1679 Samuel knowles (1651-1737).
*  William Freeman (1660-1687), married 1685 Lydai Sparrow (1660-1709).
*  Hannah Freeman (1664-1744), married 1681 John Mayo (1652-1726).
*  Patience Freeman (1665-1746), married 1682 Samuel Paine (1652-1712).
*  Prence Freeman (1665-????).
*  Nathaniel Freeman (1669-1760), married 1692 Mary Howland (1666-1743).
*  Bennett Freeman (1671-1716), married 1689 John Paine (1661-1731).

2302.  Thomas Prence, born 1600 in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England; died 29 March 1673 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 4604. Thomas Prence and 4605. Elizabeth.  He married (1) 05 August 1624 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
2303.  Patience Brewster, born about 1595 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; died before 12 December 1634 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 4606. William Brewster and 4607. Mary.

Children of Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster are:
*  Thomas Prence (1625-????).
*  Rebecca Prence (1627-1651), married 1646 Edmund Freeman (1620-1673).
*  Hannah Prence (1629-1698), married (1) 1650 Nathaniel Mayo (1627-1662); (2) 1671 Jonathan Sparrow (1634-1707).
*  Mercy Prence (1631-1711), married 1650 John Freeman (1627-1719).

Thomas Prence was married three more times after the death of Patience in 1634.

Information about the Prence family can be obtained from:

*  Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633 (Boston, Mass. : NEHGS, 1996), Volume III, pages 1518-1524.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/surname-saturday-prence-england-to.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Friday, August 28, 2015

I Am Hillary (Rodham) Clinton's 18th Cousin, and perhaps Donald Trump's 19th Cousin Once Removed

A reader emailed me recently noting the article that Hillary (Rodham) Clinton is Donald Trump's 19th cousin - see Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton revealed to be distant cousins as family trees show they share same set of royal ancestors from the Daily Mail on 25 August 2015.  My reader then asked if I was related to both of them:

I went to www.WikiTree.com which has a thriving project for famous persons.  I quickly found Hillary (Rodham) Clinton's profile (Rodham-1) and clicked on the "Relationship to Me" link (it's under the person's name next to "My WikiTree), and the relationship chart appeared (three screens shown):




So, Hillary is my 18th cousin.  Our common ancestor for this relationship is Pierre de Luxembourg (1390-1433).  

On the right side of the first screen above, there is a box that says "Explore more: 37 common ancestors were found between Hillary and Randy within 25 generations. To view the relationship trails, select the common ancestor here."  That dropdown list provides the names of all 37 of our common ancestors, according to WikiTree, back 25 generations or less.  

Before someone asks about Donald Trump, I tried my relationship to myself also.  He is Trump-66 on WikiTree.  WikiTree said that we were not related by blood back at least 25 generations.  

Interestingly, WikiTree doesn't find a relationship between Hillary (Rodham) Clinton and Donald Trump.  

The Daily Mail article provided a comparison of their lines of descent from John of Gaunt through two of his children, which was probably from the Geni.com relationship calculator - see the Geni.com blog post at Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Are Related – And This is How.

I am related to John of Gaunt, according to WikiTree - he is my 19th great-grandfather through his daughter, Joan Beaufort.  So if Donald and Hillary are descended from John of Gaunt and are 19th cousins (meaning he is their 18th great-grandfather), according to Geni, then I must be a 19th cousin once removed to Donald Trump.  

But WikiTree doesn't show Donald Trump as a descendant of John of Gaunt.  It doesn't show that Hillary Clinton is a descendant of John of Gaunt, but is a 2nd cousin 19 times removed to him.  

Obviously, Geni.com and WikiTree.com have different Royal/Noble entries in their databases.  Who knows which one is more correct!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/i-am-hillary-rodham-clintons-18th.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 87: #103 Catharina (Ruth) Konig (1770-1813)

Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I am extending this theme in 2015 to 104 Ancestors in 104 Weeks. Here is my ancestor biography for week #87:

Catharina (Ruth) Konig (1770-1813)  is #103 on my Ahnentafel list, my 4th great-grandmother, who married #102 Philip Jacob King (1764-1829) in about 1789.

I am descended through:

* their daughter, 
#51 Elizabeth King (1796-1863), who married #50 Daniel Spangler (1781-1851), in 1815.
*  their daughter, #25 Rebecca Spangler (1832-1901) who married #24 David Jackson Carringer (1828-1902),  in 1852.
*  their son, #12 Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946), who married #13 Abbie Ardell "Della" Smith (1862-1944) in 1887.
*  their son, #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976), who married #7 Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977) in 1918.
*  their daughter, #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002), who married #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) in 1942.
*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

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

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


*  Name:                    Catherine Ruth[1]   
*  Sex:                       Female   

*  Father:                  George Ruth (1740-1812)
*  Mother:                 Anna Maria Bentz (1751-1796)
  
2)  INDIVIDUAL FACTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                    about 1770, Berks, Pennsylvania, United States[1]   
*  Death:                  8 December 1813 (about age 43), York, York, Pennsylvania, United States[2]
  
3)  SHARED FACTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Spouse 1:             Philip Jacob Konig (1764-1829)   
*  Marriage 1:          before 1789 (before about age 19), probably York, Pennsylvania, United States[1]   
*  Child 1:                Anna Maria King (1790-    )    
*  Child 2:                Catherine King (1792-    )    
*  Child 3:                George King (1794-1860)    
*  Child 4:                Elizabeth King (1796-1863)    
*  Child 5:                Salome "Sarah" King (1797-1836)    
*  Child 6:                Lydia King (1799-    )    
*  Child 7:                Catherine King (1801-    )    
*  Child 8:                Jacob King (1803-    )    
*  Child 9:                Rebecca King (1805-    )    
*  Child 10:              Barbara King (1808-1852)    
*  Child 11:              Julia Anna King (1810-1825)    
*  Child 12:              Henry King (1813-    )  

  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):   

The name of Catharine (Ruth) Konig is found in the King Family of York, Pennsylvania book[1].  Some online family trees say she was born 10 March 1770 in Berks County, Pennsylvania to George and Anna Maria (Bentz) Ruth of Berks County, Pennsylvania.  

There is no known record of the marriage of Philip Jacob King and Catharine Ruth.  It may have occurred in York or Berks County, Pennsylvania.  They were probably married in about 1789, before the birth of their first child in January 1790.

Philip and Catharine had 12 children between 1790 and 1813[1].  They were:

*   Anna Maria King (1790-    ), married 1806 George Kann (1783-1877)    
*  Catherine King (1792-    ), died young.    
*  George King (1794-1860), married Rachel Johnston (1800-1874)   
*  Elizabeth King (1796-1863), married 1815 Daniel Spangler (1791-1851)  
*  Salome "Sarah" King (1797-1836), married 1821 Jacob Ehrhart ( 1794 - 1975)   
*  Lydia King (1799-    ), died young.
*  Catherine King (1801-    ), died young.    
*  Jacob King (1803-1878 ), married Sarah Salome Smyser (1808-1895)   
*  Rebecca King (1805-    ), died young.    
*  Barbara King (1808-1852), who married 1829 Peter Zacharias (1800-    ).    
* Julia Anna King (1810-1825)    
* Henry King (1813-1886), married about 1838 Leah Johnston (1816-1844)

Note that the first female child is named Anna Maria, and the first male child is named George, which are the given names of the purported parents of Catharine Ruth.

Catharine (Ruth) King died on 8 December 1813 in York, York County, Pennsylvania, leaving Philip Jacob King with a household of young children[2].

No burial location is known, although she is probably buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in York.

5)  SOURCES
 
1. Richard Shue, The Kings of York County: Pioneers, Patriots and Papermakers (York, Penn. : the author, n.d.), Part III, page 5.

2. Richard Shue, The Kings of York County: Pioneers, Patriots and Papermakers , Part III, page 25.

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

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-87-103.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


Thursday, August 27, 2015

How Can I Find What Paper or Microform Information is Kept in a Particular Area?

We had our monthly Chula Vista Genealogical Society program yesterday - it was a Problem Solving Panel answering questions submitted by CVGS members - see a summary at CVGS Program Review - Problem Solving Panel on 26 August 2015.

One of the questions submitted was this one: "When I have exhausted available online data, how can I find out what paper or microfiche information is kept in a particular area?"  It wasn't my question to answer, and Shirley did a good job responding in limited time, but my readers may be interested in what I would have said (given enough time):

1)  Published books, especially town, county and state histories, or compiled genealogies and family history books, can be found in local, public, private, county, university,  state, regional or national libraries, plus local or regional historical societies.  Almost every library has an online catalog, and so a searcher can access it online before visiting the repository.  City directories, business directories, telephone books and other directories may be available in these repositories.  A searcher can find out where a specific book is available by using http://WorldCat.org online.



2)  Genealogy and family history periodicals can also be found in all of the libraries and historical societies noted above.  Most genealogy related periodicals have been collected at Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and can be obtained from that library for a fee.  Use the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) now on www.FindMyPast.com to search for pertinent articles.




3)  Unpublished manuscripts and/or paper collections, donated by individuals or organizations, can be found at libraries, state archives, national archives, genealogical societies, or historical societies. Many archived collection are indexed at NUCMC (National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collection - http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/) and ArchiveGRID (http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/).  



Some libraries, genealogical societies, and historical societies have unindexed paper collections in file cabinets or on shelves that can only be searched by going to the repository.  Local history and genealogy information can usually be found on the county pages at USGenWeb (http://USGenWeb.org).  In addition, searchers can use the RootsWeb surname or locality message boards (http://boards.rootsweb.com/) and mailing lists (http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/) to determine where a local record might be found.  Searchers could request help from genealogical or historical societies, or professional researchers, to obtain these records.

4)  The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has an extensive collection of over 2.5 million microfilms and over 700,000 microfiche sets that have been imaged over the past 100 years or more.  They include user-contributed books and manuscripts, official court and land records, compiled vital record and cemetery books or manuscripts, etc.  You can access the FamilySearch Catalog at  https://familysearch.org/catalog-search.  If a collection has been digitized and is available online as a historical record collection, there will be a link to the digitized records.  Microfilms and microfiche setts can be ordered online to be sent to a local FamilySearch Center for a fee.



Note that there are many digitized microfilms available on the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections list (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/listthat are not every-name indexed, and therefore cannot be searched for.  Searchers can browse them at home - they are digital microfilm (see Dear Randy: What is the Most Important Skill for Finding Digital Records Online?).

Other large repositories (e.g., New England Historic Genealogical Society) may have a collection of microfilms for popular records in their locale.

5)  Vital Records (births, deaths, marriages) can be obtained at a local, county or state vital records office - see  http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm for record availability, access requirements, cost, and where to obtain records for each state.  Searchers can usually request records online, in person, or using a paid researcher.

6)  Official public records such as Court Records (e.g., civil, criminal, family, probate) and Land Records are filed in district or county courts in each state.  Searchers can request these records in person or using a paid researcher.  Check with the Family History Library Catalog first to see if there are microfilm or microfiche records for the record type and period of interest.

7)  The National Archives in Washington DC, and the branches around the country, has a tremendous number of federal records, including presidential, congressional, judicial, census, military, immigration, naturalization, and land.  Visit  http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/ to see what can be found.  Many National Archives collections have been digitized or are being digitized already and are available online.



8)  State Archives have information pertaining to the public records, maps, books, papers, documents, etc. of the State's history, political history and geography.  See 
http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/state-archives.html for locations and contact information.

9)  Local business and organization records (e.g., churches, cemeteries, funeral homes, schools, fraternal organizations) may be available in the business or organization offices, or in a local historical society or state archive.  Be sure to check websites, USGenWeb.org, and the FHL Catalog for these records first.

10)  Newspaper records may be available at local libraries and historical societies in paper format or on microfilm.  There may even be an index for articles available.  Or not.  It is very difficult to find articles or notices in a "cold search" of days and weeks of a newspaper that has not been digitized or indexed.  But sometimes that is the only way to find articles about your ancestral families.  Check Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) to determine what newspapers were published in a locality, and check the online newspaper archives list at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_online_newspaper_archives).

11)  Finally, let's recall the Iceberg chart that indicates that only about 10% of all genealogy records are available on the Internet - the rest are in archives, libraries, courthouses, etc.


Isn't it interesting that we can use online catalogs and websites to help us find genealogy and family history records that are not digitized.  The process of finding records offline has been simplified by having online finding aids to help us.

I'm sure that I've missed some resource types, or glossed over them, in the list above.  What other types of records, and where a searcher can access them, do my readers have to share?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/how-can-i-find-what-paper-or-microform.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.