Saturday, April 2, 2016

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Three Ancestry Questions

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, please!):

1) My friend and colleague Linda Stufflebean posted J
UST FOR FUN – 4 X 6 = 24 FAMILY TREE QUESTIONS on her blog this week, and I thought we could answer half of the questions this week and half next week.

2)  Here are the first three questions:

*  What four places did my ancestors live that are geographically the farthest from where I live today?
*  What are the four most unusual given names in my family tree?

*  What are the four most common given names in my family tree?

3)  Answer each of the questions based on your own ancestors, not the collateral lines.

4)  Share your answers with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this post, in a Facebook post or a Google+ post.  Please provide a link to your response if you can.

Here's mine:

1)  What four places did my ancestors live that are geographically the farthest from where I live today?
*  Germany (my Carringers and Spanglers, but I don't know towns or states)
*  Holland (my Putmans and Van Vorsts, but I don't know towns; also my Leiden pilgrims)
*  France (my LaTourettes and Poillons and Mercereaus, but I don't know towns.
*  England (Richmans, Marshmans and Richs and Hills in Hilperton in Wiltshire)

2)  What are the four most unusual given names in my family tree?
*  Experience Willis (1709-1787, married Isaac Read)
*  Thankslord Shepard (1650-1733, married Peter Dill)
*  Ichabod Kirby (1705-1793)
*  Peregrine White (1620-1704)

3)  What are the four most common given names in my family tree? [I made a GEDCOM file of just ancestors for 15 generations (2198 persons), imported it into Legacy Family Tree, and ran the Statistics Report].
*  John (208)
*  Mary (147)
*  Elizabeth (132)
*  Thomas (121)


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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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


Surname Saturday - LNU (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 #1267, who is Sarah LNU (1620-????) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through one generation of this LNU 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)


18.  Edward Hildreth (1831-1899)
19.  Sophia Newton (1834-1923)

38.  Thomas J. Newton (1800-????)
39.  Sophia Buck (1797-1882)

78.  Isaac Buck (1757-1846)
79.  Martha Phillips (1757-1820)

158.  John Phillips (1722-????)
159.  Hannah Brown (1725?-1770?)

316.  Ebenezer Phillips (1695-1746)
317.  Mary Smith (1698-1746?)

632.  Andrew Phillips (1661-1717)
633.  Sarah Smith (1661-????)

1266.  Michael Smith, born about 1620 in England; died after 1687 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He married before 1639 in Massachusetts, United States.
1267.  Jane LNU, born about 1620 in England; died 10 November 1692 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Michael Smith and Jane are:
i. Nathaniel Smith, born about 1640 in probably Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States;
ii. Michael Smith, born about 1643 in probably Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States;   iii. John Smith, born about 1645 in probably Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died about 1678 in probably Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.
iv. Samuel Smith, born 19 July 1648 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; 
v. Pelatiah Smith, born about 1651 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Sarah.

vi. Sarah Smith, born before 04 August 1661 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Andrew Phillips 11 November 1683 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.

I have no idea what Jane (--?--) Smith parentage is.  Does anyone have an authoritative source?  


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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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

Friday, April 1, 2016

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 1 April 2016

Several geneabloggers wrote notable posts today, so I want to list the Best of them.  My knowledge and judgement tells me that these posts deserve to be listed:

*  GEDCOM Lives! by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog.  Thank goodness.  Some of the new TAGs are listed too.  The last one is a winner!

*  San Serriffe by Jonathan Crowe on The Map Room blog. Jonathan provides a map for this new luxury vacation spot in the Indian Ocean.

*  Happy Genealogy Day! by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  This is the census day for many decades.

*  Great News!!! by Roberta J. Estes on the DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy blog.  We've been waiting for this news a long time!

*  Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter Purchased by Google by Dick Eastman on Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter blog.  Good news here!  Happy retirement, Dick!

Did I miss any?  Please let me know in comments.


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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday - 1 April 2016

I received this press release from Findmypast today:

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This Findmypast Friday marks the release of the final phase of the National School Admission Registers & Log Books collection as well as new additions to our collections of Worcestershire baptisms, marriages, burials and Middlesex baptisms.
Over 527,000 records schools from 8 separate archives across England have been added to the National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914 collection. The collection, which was originally launched in September 2014, has had over 160,000 records added in this latest update and it now complete. 
The National School Admission Registers & Log-books records are the result of a landmark project between schools, record offices and archives throughout England and Wales. The project was facilitated by the ARA and The National Archives under the National Digitisation Consortium banner and has brought together over 100 archives and schools in the largest collaborative digitisation project ever undertaken.
The records comprise fully searchable scanned colour images of the original handwritten admission registers and log-books from the archives. Details contained within the log-books from the period leading up to World War One include attendance records, reasons for absence, visitors to the school and the daily activities of school life. The admission registers provide many useful details for family historians, including your ancestor's birth date, admission year and the school they attended. You may also be able to discover their parents' names, father's occupation, exam results and any illnesses that led to absence from school.
Nearly 9,000 new records have been added to our collection of Worcestershire Baptisms. The new additions cover the parishes of Droitwich St Andrew and St Nicholas between 1571 and 1900. Each record includes a transcript of the information found in the original parish registers. The details in each transcript can vary, but most will include your ancestors name, birth year, baptism date, baptism place, parent’s names and any additional notes. 
Over 2,700 new records have been added to our collection of Worcestershire Marriages. The new additions cover the parishes of Droitwich St Andrew and St Nicholas between 1571 and 1900. Each record includes a transcript of the information found in the original parish registers. The details in each transcript may vary, but most will reveal the name of the bride and groom, their ages, year of birth, the date and location of their wedding and whether they were married by banns or by license. A number of records may also include notes on the bride and grooms fathers and their occupations.
Over 5,000 new records have been added to our collection of Worcestershire Burials. The latest additions cover the parishes of Droitwich St Andrew and St Nicholas between 1571 and 1900. Each record includes a transcript of the information found in the original parish registers. The details in each transcript can vary, but most will include your ancestor’s name, age at death and birth year as well as the date and location of their burial. A number of records may also contain additional notes listing their relations (spouses, patents, children etc.)
Over 129,000 records have been added to our collection of Middlesex Baptism records. The collection now spans over 300 years from the sixteenth century all the way up to the late nineteenth century. Each record includes transcribed details from the original parish register. While the content of the transcripts can vary, most will have the name, birth date or age, baptism date, parish, parents' names, father's occupation and residence.

Don’t forget to regularly check our dedicated Findmypast Friday page to keep up to date with all the latest additions.
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I wonder when they are going to add Somerset and Wiltshire records like these Worcestershire records?  Nobody seems to have them.  

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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

52 Ancestors - Week 118: #141 Mehitable (Brown) Dill (1714-1758)

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 2016 to 156 Ancestors in 156 Weeks. Here is my ancestor biography for week #118:

#141 Mehitable Brown (1714-1758) is #141 on my Ahnentafel list, my 5th great-grandmother who married #140 Thomas Dill (1708-1761)  in 1733.


I am descended through:

*  their son #70 Thomas Dill 
(1755-1836), who married 
#71 Hannah Horton (1761-1797) in 1782. 
*  their daughter, #35 Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869) who married #34 Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840) in 1826.
*  their daughter, #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884), who married #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) in 1852.
*  their son, #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922), who married #9 Hattie Louise Hildreth (1847-1920) in 1874. 
*  their son, #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942), who married Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
* their son, #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.
*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

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


*  Name:                      Mehitable Brown[1–5]    
*  Sex:                         Female   

*  Father:                     Samuel Brown (1686-1739)   
*  Mother:                   Ruth Young (1688-1768)   
  
2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                       1 October 1714, Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[1]   
*  Death:                      before 1758 (before about age 44), probably Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States   
  
3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Spouse 1:                Thomas Dill (1708-1761)   
*  Marriage Intentions: 2 June 1733 (age 18), Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[5]   
*  Marriage:                17 July 1733 (age 18), Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[2–4]   
*  Child 1:                   Thomas Dill (1734-1737)   
*  Child 2:                   Samuel Dill (1736-1766)   
*  Child 3:                   Thomas Dill (1737-    )   
*  Child 4:                   Aaron Dill (1739-    )   
*  Child 5:                   James Dill (1741-1816)   
*  Child 6:                   Moses Dill (1751-1771)   
*  Child 7:                   Betty Dill (1753-    )   
*  Child 8:                   Thomas Dill (1755-1836)   
  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):   

 Mehitable Brown was the daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Young) Brown, the fourth of five children.  Her birth was recorded in the Eastham town records as[1]:

"Mehitable Brown the daughter of Samuel and Ruth Brown was Born at Eastham on the first Day of December annodomini : 1714."

Thomas Dill married Mehitable Brown in Eastham, Massachusetts on 17 July 1733[2-4].  The Eastham town record book says:

"July 17: 1733 then Thomas Dill & Mehitable Brown were married by Mr Isaiah Lues."

Thomas and Mehitable (Brown) Dill had at least five children, and probably eight children.  There are records in Medford for sons Thomas, Samuel and Thomas (again), and records in Eastham for sons Aaron and James, but there are no records in either place for Moses, Betty and Thomas (again).  When Thomas died in 1761, guardians were assigned for Moses, Betty and Thomas, so they were all under age 18 at that time.  

Mehitable (Brown) Dill died before 1758 when Thomas Dill married Mary (Baker) Higgins.  

There are no probate records for Mehitable Dill.  There are no known gravestones or burial records for either Mehitable or Thomas Dill.

5)  SOURCES

1. Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans (Baltimore, Md. : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993), page 36, Mehitabel Brown birth entry.

2. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org :, Barnstable > Eastham-Orleans > Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1701-1796 > image 64 of 126, page 109, Thomas Dill and Mehitable Brown marriage entry .

3. The Mayflower Descendant (Boston, Mass. : General Society of Mayflower Descendants), Volume 17, Page 82, Marriage of Thomas Dill and Mehitable Brown.

4. Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans, page 95, Thomas Dill and Mehitable Brown marriage entry.

5. Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans, page 145, Thomas Dill and Mehitable Brown marriage intentions entry.

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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Review: "Genealogy at a Glance: Genetic Genealogy Basics" by Angie Bush

The Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore has published another in its series of "Genealogy at a Glance" laminated research guides - this time for Genetic Genealogy Basics by Angie Bush.  


This "Genealogy at a Glance" booklet has four laminated pages on one 11" x 17" paper (folded). It is designed to give the user the basic elements of genealogy research in the allotted space. They provide an overview of the facts a researcher needs to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with research in the subject.

The description of the 
Genetic Genealogy Basics booklet includes:

Contrary to popular belief, DNA testing is not the final word in determining your ancestry, but it is extremely helpful. It is most effective when it’s used to confirm that documentation concerning your family relationships is accurate. It is also used to test hypotheses about ancestors for whom little or no documentary evidence exists. Equally important, DNA testing can be used as “cousin bait” to identify previously unknown cousins who may be able to add information to your genealogical research and/or confirm your ancestral connections.

In this handy four-page guide, author Angie Bush gives you the simple facts about (a) DNA testing, (b) DNA testing companies, and (c) DNA testing results. She provides a simple overview of the three types of DNA tests: Y-DNA, mtDNA, and atDNA, or autosomal DNA, the most popular type of testing for genealogists. She goes on to explain which test is right for you and then launches into a description of the testing companies and what you can expect from them. The companies featured in this At a Glance guide were chosen because they are the only companies that provide a list of “genetic cousin” matches based on DNA analysis.

Most crucially, DNA test results give information about where your most ancient ancestor originated and his ethnicity. But equally important for resolving questions of a genealogical nature is the list of genetic cousins that the companies provide as matches. Proper evaluation of match lists within the context of how that particular type of DNA was inherited is key to using DNA as a genealogical record. In the end, the author cautions, DNA testing does not provide proof of relationship without genealogical research to support the findings, but knowing your ethnicity, place of origin, and previously unknown cousins is a very good place to start.

The booklet has these subjects:

*  Contents

*  Overview
**  Confirming Relationships
**  Fishing for Cousins

*  Quick Facts

*  Types of DNA Tests
** Y-DNA Test (paternal lineage)
**  mtDNA Test (maternal lineage)
**  Autosomal DNA Test (all ancestors)

*  DNA Testing Companies
**  Family Tree DNA
**  23andMe
**  AncestryDNA

*  DNA Testing Results
**  DNA Raw Data
** Haplogroup and Ethnicity Estimates
** DNA Cousin Match Lists

*  Tips for Getting the Most From DNA Testing

This booklet is designed primarily for the person who has little experience and understanding of genetic testing for genealogy purposes, and provides an overview of the basics of genetic genealogy.

For someone like me that teaches and talks about genealogy a bit, it is invaluable because I can pull it out and provide some guidance to my student or colleague interested in the subject.

The beauty of these "Genealogy at a Glance" booklets is that they are very light and portable in a briefcase or laptop case. They are fixtures in my research case.

This four-page laminated 
booklet costs $8.95,  plus postage and handling. You can order it through the Genealogical Store, or use the link for the Genetic Genealogy Basics  booklet and click on the "Add to Cart" link.  I recommend buying these at seminars and conferences where they are offered in order to avoid the shipping costs.


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The URL for this post is:   http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/03/review-genealogy-at-glance-genetic.html

Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2016.

Disclosure: Genealogical.com contacted me recently and asked me to provide a review of this booklet. They mailed me a review copy for my personal use as remuneration for this review.

Treasure Chest Thursday #307: 1714 Birth Record of Mehitable Brown in Eastham, Mass.

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the  1714 birth record of Mehitable Brown (1714-ca1757), daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Young) Brown, in Eastham, Massachusetts:


The snippet for the birth record of Mehitable Brown:


The transcription of this record is:

"Mehetabel Brown the Daughter of Samuel and Ruth
Brown was Born at Eastham on the first day of De
cember annodomini 1714."

The source citation for this record is:

"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 28 March 2016), Barnstable County, "Eastham, Orleans, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Land Grants, 1649-1722," page 73 (image 138 of 157), Mehetabel Brown birth entry.

This page has all of the births of the children of Samuel and Ruth (Young) Brown listed.  In addition, the marriage record of Samuel Brown and Ruth Young is listed.

While this is probably not the original record of these events, it is probably the earliest available record of these events.  The marriage and births are all in the same hand and have the same ink color. 
Therefore, they are Derivative Source records, with Primary Information and Direct Evidence of the events.

This record was copied and published in a book:

Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans (Baltimore, Md. : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993), page 36, Mehetabel Brown birth entry.

Mehitable (Brown) Dill (1714-ca1757) is my 5th great-grandmother, the first wife of Thomas Dill (1710-1761).

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The URL for this post is:   http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/03/treasure-chest-thursday-307-1714-birth.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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