Genea-Musings: 09/25/16

Saturday, October 1, 2016

What Was the First Genealogical Society You Joined? -- Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

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) What was the first genealogical society you joined? Why did you join that one?

2) Share your response in a comment on this blog post, in your own blog post (and provide a link in a comment on this post), or on Facebook or Google+.

My thanks to Jacquie Schattner for providing this challenge via email.

Here's mine:

I started my genealogy research in 1988, and was finding lots of published material and was using the microfilms at the Family History Center in San Diego. By 1992, I had a family tree pretty well fleshed out - probably 75% of what I have now), but it was all on paper and I was awash in paper (I still have it, but that's another post!).

In 1992, I was visiting the Chula Vista Library once a week and ran into Joy Voss, a Chula Vista Genealogical Society volunteer, and she listened and tried to help me. She suggested that I join the Chula Vista Genealogical Society fior $10 a year. They had meetings on a weekday morning where they sat around the conference room table sharing their surnames and localities and helping each other, and occasionally one of them made a presentation. I was working on those weekday mornings, but once in awhile I played hookie. At one of the meetings, I said I was working on the Prodigy computer system and they had wonderful genealogy boards. They talked me into doing a presentation on Prodigy. I think I gave the first overhead presentation (handwritten!) to CVGS in the summer of 1993. I still have the overhead slides!

Why did I join? For the help, discussion and support of the membership - there were some veteran researchers who had decades of experience, and they liked having a male at the meetings. I probably had them ost computer experience of anyone there when I started and was able to help folks with PAF and then Family Tree Maker. I didn't attend every month - perhaps 2-3 times a year until I retired in 2002. I always found a way to make at least one presentation each year before I retired.

I didn't stop with CVGS - I joined the San Diego Genealogical Society in 1994, and the Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego in 2002 (?). I also joined the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1992, and the National Genealogical Society in 1994.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/10/what-was-first-genealogical-society-you.html

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

Surname Saturday -- LNU (Joanna married Joseph Ladd, England to colonial New England)

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 #1481 (skipping some missing ancestors), who is Joanna LNU (1630-1669) [Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through two generations 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)

10. Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11. Julia E. White (1848-1913)

22. Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23. Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864)

46. Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872)
47. Amy Champlin (1798-1865)

92. Joseph Oatley (1756-1815)
93. Mary Hazard (1765-1857)

184. Benedict Oatley (1732-1821)
185. Eliozabeth Ladd (1735-1814)

370. Joseph Ladd (1701-1748)
371. Lydia Gray (1707-????)

740. William Ladd (1665-1729)
741. Elizabeth Tompkins (1675-????)

1480. Joseph Ladd, born about 1613 in Kent, England; died before 24 July 1683 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. He married before 1654 in probably Rhode Island, United States.
1481. Joanna LNU, born about 1630 in England; died about 1669 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States.

Children of Joseph Ladd and Joanna are:
* Mary Ladd (1654-1728), married 1675 Robert Brownell (1648-1728).
* Sara Ladd (1657-????).
* Joseph Ladd (1660-????0, married 1685 Rachel LNU.
* William Ladd (1665-1729), married 1695 Elizabeth Tompkins (1675-????).
* Daniel Ladd (1668-????).

I have no information about Joanna LNU. If someone does, I would appreciate knowing what it is.

Information on the Ladd family was obtained from:

* Warren Ladd, The Ladd Family, A Genealogical and Biographical Memoir..." (New Bedford, Mass. : Edmund Anthony & Sons, 1890).

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/10/surname-saturday-lnu-joanna-married.html

Friday, September 30, 2016

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday, 30 September 2016

I received this information from Findmypast today:

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New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday

Over 2.2 million new records are available to search this Findmypast Friday including:

Billion Graves Cemetery Index

Over 1.7 million new records have been added to our Billion Graves Cemetery index collections. With over 12 million headstone records, Billion Graves is the largest online resource for GPS-tagged headstone and burial records, allowing you to discover the exact location of your ancestor’s grave.

This latest update includes;
· Over 1,4 million new additions to the United States Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 110,000 new additions to the Canada Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 107,000 new additions to the Australia Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 19,000 new additions to the England Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 16,000 new additions to the New Zealand Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 10,000 new additions to the Scotland Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 3,000 new additions to the Ireland Billion Graves Cemetery Index
· Over 600 new additions to the Wales Billion Graves Cemetery Index

Theses index will be regularly updated throughout the year. Each entry has a transcript, which includes a link to an image of the headstone with GPS details. The amount of information listed may vary, but most records will include a combination of the deceased's name, birth date, death date, and cemetery, city, county and image link.

British Army, Worldwide Index 1851

The British Army Worldwide Index 1851 contains over 156,000 records and index and covers over 300 regiments serving around the world. A wide range of ranks is represented from privates and drivers to captains and lieutenants. The index was created by Roger E. Nixon using regimental muster books and pay lists, part of the War Office records, held at The National Archives. Each transcript will provide you with an archival reference from the original source and will reveal your ancestor’s service number, rank, and regiment, as well as where his regiment was serving at the time the record was created.

The regiments in this collection were serving in Malta, the West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan, Canada, Honduras, and more places around the world.

Warwickshire Burials

Over 1,000 records from Witton Cemetery in Birmingham (formally known as Birmingham City Cemetery) have been added to our collection of Warwickshire Burials. The entire collection now contains more than 1.1 million records.

Each record includes a transcript of the original burial registry or details from the monumental inscription. Each record will vary depending on its source, but most will include your ancestor's name, age, birth year, death date, burial year, burial location and the name of the officiating minister. A number of records will also include their parent's names and residence.

Irish Newspapers

Over 372,000 articles from three brand new titles have just been added to our collection of historic Irish Newspapers; the Irish Times, Weekly Irish Times and the Waterford Standard.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/09/new-records-available-to-search-this_30.html

52 Ancestors - Week 144: #189 Phoebe (Card) Champlin (1730-after 1779)

Here is my 52 Ancestors biography for week #144:

Phoebe (Card) Champlin (1730-1779) is #189 on my Ahnentafel list, my 5th great-grandmother, who married #188 Elijah Champlin (1730-1779) in 1751.

I am descended through:

* their son, #94 Joseph Champlin (1758-1850), who married #95 Nancy Kenyon (1765-1833) in 1785.

* their daughter #47 Amy Champlin (1798-1865) who married #46 Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872) in 1823.

* their daughter #23 Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864) who married #22 Henry Arnold White (1824-1885) in 1844.

* their daughter #11 Julie E. White (1848-1913), who married #10 Thomas Richmond (1848-1917) in 1868.

* their daughter #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962), who married #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) 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: Phoebe Card[1,3-4]
* Alternate Name: Phebe Champlin[2]
* Sex:   Female

* Father: Job Card (1690-1760)
* Mother:   Judith Greenman (1694-1786)

2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Birth:   about 1730, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island, United States[1]
* Distribution: 11 March 1779 (about age 49), Elijah's will proved; South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States[2]
* Death:   after 1779 (after about age 49), South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States

3) SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Spouse 1: Elijah Champlin (1730-1779)
* Marriage:   27 November 1751 (about age 21) , South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States[1,3–4]

* Child 1: Phoebe Champlin (1752- )
* Child 2:   Elijah Champlin (1756-1825)
* Child 3:   Joseph Champlin (1757-1850)
* Child 4:   William Champlin (1758-1844)
* Child 5:   Mary Champlin (1760-1801)
* Child 6:   Jeffrey Champlin (1761-1837)
* Child 7:   Hannah Champlin (1762-1831)
* Child 8:   Amy Champlin (1764- )
* Child 9:   Anna Champlin (1766- )
* Child 10:   Elizabeth Champlin (1768- )
* Child 11:   Alice Champlin (1770- )

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

According to the "Descendants of Richard Card" article, Phoebe Card was the 7th child and 3rd daughter of Job and Judith (Greenman) Card, born in Westerly, Rhode Island[1].

On November 27, 1751, Elijah married Phoebe Card of South Kingstown in a wedding ceremony performed by Justice Samuel Tefft. Elijah was the son of William Champlin and Joanna --?--, born about 1730 and died before 11 March 1779[1,4].

Elijah and Phoebe had eleven children, all probably born in Charlestown, Rhode Island[1,4]:

1695. Phoebe (born about 1752)
1690. Elijah (born 1756)
1691. Joseph (born about 1758)
1692. William (born about 1759)
1693. Mary (born about 1760)
1689. Jeffrey (born 1761)
1694. Hannah (born about 1762)
1696. Amey (born about 1764)
1697. Anna (born about 1766)
1698. Elizabeth (born about 1768)
1699. Alice (born about 1770)

The will of Elijah Champlin, written on 14 January 1779 and proved 11 March 1779, bequeathed the remainder of his personal estate to his wife, Phebe Champlin for her support and support of their four youngest daughters[2]:

"And as to the rest of my Personal Estate be it of what kind or nature soever I give and bequeath the same to my well beloved Wife Phebe Champlin as well for the payment of all my Just Debts & Funeral Charges as also for the payment of the Legacies herein bequeathed and for her support & the support and maintenance of my four youngest daughters to wit Hannah, Anna, Elizabeth, & Alice, till they shall respectively be able to support themselves, and after that Time what I have herein given to my wife to remain to her own use forever."

Phebe (Card) Champlin was named an executrix of the estate of Elijah Champlin along with their eldest son, Elijah Champlin[2].

There is no death date or death place noted in the "Descendants of Richard Card" article. She probably died after 1779.

5) SOURCES

1. Maxine Phelps Lines, "Descendants of Richard Card of Newport," Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Volume 3, Number 3 (January 1981) to Volume 4, Number 4 (April 1982), Volume 3, Number 4, Page 307, Phoebe Card sketch.

2. South Kingston (R.I.) Town Clerk, "Town Council Records, 1704-1943," (South Kingston, R.I.), on 8 microfilm reels, Volume 6, Pages 110-112, Elijah Champlin will, 1779, accessed on FHL Microfilm US/CAN 0,931,835.

3. "Rhode Island, Vital Records Extracts, 1636-1899," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Volume 5, Washington County: Births, Marriages, Deaths, South Kingstown Marriages, Page 11 (image 131 of 523), Elijah Champlain and Phebe Card entry.

4. Robert R. Champlin, Champlin Families in America (Newmarket, Ontario : the author 274 Plymouth Trail, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada L3Y 6G7, bchamplin@rogers.com 2011, provided by email to Randy Seaver), Elijah Champlin sketch.

NOTE: 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.

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The URL for this post is:

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Book Review: "The Spyglass File," by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin provided me with a review copy of his latest book, The Spyglass File, three weeks ago and I have been reading several chapters almost every night. This is the 4th Morton Farrier, Forensic Genealogy mystery and is excellent.

The summary of the book, from Amazon, is:

"Morton Farrier was no longer at the top of his game. His forensic genealogy career was faltering and he was refusing to accept any new cases, preferring instead to concentrate on locating his own elusive biological father. Yet, when a particular case presents itself, that of finding the family of a woman abandoned in the midst of the Battle of Britain, Morton is compelled to help her to unravel her past. Using all of his genealogical skills, he soon discovers that the case is connected to The Spyglass File—a secretive document which throws up links which threaten to disturb the wrongdoings of others, who would rather its contents, as well as their actions, remain hidden forever. "

Morton Farrier is a forensic genealogist based in Kent, England. He has a client named Barbara, who was adopted as a baby and wants to know who her father was. Her mother, Elsie Finch, was a married woman whose husband was not Barbara's father, according to an adoption record. Elsie gave up her baby for adoption in 1941 during World War II.

There are two mystery stories here - there is what happened to Elsie Finch during World War II in Kent, and what happens to Morton Farrier during his search for Elsie's story and Barbara's father. You see, Morton is also adopted, and is getting married, and the case is a challenge. Danger lurks however.

Goodwin switches back and forth between the two stories - Elsie's life experiences as she lives through the Battle of Britain, and Morton's research as he tries to find out the identity of Barbara's father, while trying to get to the church on time for his own wedding.

I learned a lot about the historical setting and events for the Battle of Britain in the early 1940s - about the Dunkirk evacuation, about the German bombing of England, about the Royal Air Force and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, even about Malta in the war. I also learned about several new-to-me genealogical resources available for records of the period.

I really enjoyed this book. If you like genealogical fiction and mysteries, you will love this book.

You can read several chapters for free on the Amazon page, and can order the book for Kindle for $6.89 and in paperback for $12.99.

Nathan has a website - the page for this book is http://www.nathandylangoodwin.com/the-spyglass-file. He has photos of places mentioned in the book and document examples found on Pinterest (https://uk.pinterest.com/dylan0470/). He also has a blog - see http://theforensicgenealogist.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-story-behind-spyglass-file.html for the real-life background of this story.

My thanks to Nathan for sharing his book with me in PDF format - I happily offered to write a review.

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1764 Marriage Record for John Kenyon and Ann Kenyon -- Treasure Chest Thursday Post #333

This week's Thursday Treasure is the 1764 marriage record of John Kenyon and Ann Kenyon in Newport, Rhode Island:

The Kenyon marriage record is:

The transcription of this record is:

148 KENYON, John, and Ann Kenyon ; m. by Rev. Gardiner Thurston, April 24, 1764.

The source citation for this record is:

"Rhode Island, Vital Records Extracts, 1636-1899," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), "Vol. 04: Newport County: Births, Marriages and Deaths," Marriages, page 42, Ann Kenyon and John Kenyon entry.

This record seems to say that John Kenyon's wife was also a Kenyon. As far as I know, no researcher has found the names of the parents of this Ann Kenyon or a birth date and place for her. She was born in about 1742, probably in Rhode Island.

The number "148" in the record is a page number in some Newport record book which may or may not still be extant. I should try to find it, I think.

This is Primary Information extracted from the Newport town records, and the book is a Derivative Source with Direct Evidence.

John and Ann *Kenyon?) Kenyon are my 5th great-grandparents. I descend through their daughter Nancy Kenyon (1765-1833), who married Joseph Champlin (1758-1850).

NOTE: Treasure Chest Thursday is one of the weekly genealogy blog themes on Geneabloggers. I use it to display, transcribe and source records for my ancestral families.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/09/1764-marriage-record-for-john-kenyon.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Seavers in the News -- a 21 Year Courtship Consummated

This week's edition of Seavers in the news is a happy one (I think).

The transcription of this article is:

"TO MARRY AFTER COURTSHIP OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS.

"NEW YORK, October 26. -- There is about to be a wedding in St. Patrick's Church at Richmond, Staten Island, which will bring to a happy close a patient wooing. John Seaver, the prospective bridgegroom, and Margaret M. Pfaff, the prospective bride, have had a courtship of twenty-one years because of the faithfulness of each to an invalid father. Seaver is about 45 years old and Miss Pfaff is in the thirties. Seaver's father died about five months ago, aged 86, and Miss Pfaff's father died a few weeks ago, aged 75."

The source citation is:

"To Marry After Courtship of Twenty-One Years," San Francisco [CA] Chronicle, online index and digital image, GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com), Sunday, 27 October 1907, page 31, column 7, John Seaver and Margaret M. Pfaff announcement.

According to the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Census records, Margaret was born in about 1865, so she was in her 40s in 1907 rather than her 30s. I don't believe that they had any children. But they are in my RootsMagic database as part of my Seaver one-name study.

John Seaver (1865-1932) was the son of Thomas Seaver (1819-1907) and Bridget Gaffney (1825-????), both born in Ireland. Margaret Pfaff was probably the daughter of Jacob Pfaff (1831-1907) and Catherine --?-- (1831-1903).

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/09/seavers-in-news-21-year-courtship.html