What are the Must-Have Resources for Genealogists?

I received an email notification yesterday that Genea-Musings was on the list of the 88 Must Have Resources for the Online Genealogist created on the www.FreePeopleSearch.org website.    

I am honored to have Genea-Musings on the genealogy blog list (although I wish they had mentioned my name!).  The list has categories of:

1)  Free Resources

**  Database Searches
**  Genealogy blogs
**  Handy Tools
**  Helpful Guides
**  Unique Resources

2)  Paid Services

**  Genealogy software
**  Subscription services
**  One-time fee services
**  Consultant services
**  Unique services

Check out the list - there may be resources that you have not considered previously.

I was surprised by some of the genealogy blogs, free websites and paid services included, and surprised that some of the very best sites, in my opinion, were not included.

What other free resources or paid services would you consider to be "Must-Have?"  What would you have left off the list?

By the way, I tried the Search field, and it didn't work.  I wonder why?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/what-are-must-have-resources-for.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Dear Randy - Do You Have a Check List to Track A Person's Information?

A genealogy society colleague asked me this question last week:

"Do you have a checklist of items to use as a guide to make sure, and keep track of, life events and documents to a person’s life, i.e. birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate, census records, etc.?"

I replied, "Of course...I'll send a form in word processor format to you."  

Here are images of a filled-in form for Joshua Smith to show what I use to track what records I have searched for, and found, for a specific person or couple:

As you can see, I've added an Internet research summary, a timeline, and a to-do list to the first page summary form of an overall research summary.

The value of these forms is that, in one document, I can see what I have searched for and found, what I have not searched for, and what I need to search for.

I don't do this for every person - I usually do it only for my brick wall or especially challenging ancestors.

I can update it any time I want to - I just need to remember to update the revision date as well.  I can have the research form open and search the different websites one-by-one and add material to the form instantaneously.  My goal is to review and update each one of these at least once a year in an effort to capture any new information that becomes available, or identify resources that I haven't considered before.

The form has evolved over the years, as more resources have come online, that page has expanded.  Since it is in a Microsoft Word table format, I can expand the lists to additional pages as needed, whether it's adding categories or adding more detail to a category.

I've put these files for my elusive ancestors in Evernote so that I have them available to me on my smart phone, tablet and laptop (as long as I have an Internet or cell connection).

I also provided my colleague an updated list of Internet resources - I think I last updated it in Online Research strategy for Russell Smith back in 2008.  Time for another update soon!

A list of my favorite genealogy links, by research topic, is posted at http://www.geneamusings.com/p/randys-genealogy-links.html.  It is still, and will always be, a work in progress!  Other online genealogy researchers have a similar list - for example, Thomas MacEntee's http://destinationaustinfamily.blogspot.com/p/research-toolbox.html.

I don't want to send this form out to requestors because it is very much a work in progress, and can probably be done better by someone else (or by your genealogy management program).  But feel free to use the ideas and categories to create your own list or form.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/dear-randy-do-you-have-check-list-to.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Amanuensis Monday - Petition for Writ of Partition of Cornelius Feather's Estate

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started his own Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is the Petition for a Writ of Partition of the estate of Cornelius Feather (1777-1853) of Salem, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.  Here is my transcription of this entry in Mercer County, Orphans Court Dockets, 1850-1858, Vol. D-E, pages 148-150 (accessed in the "Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994" collection on https://FamilySearch.org):

""August Term 1855 [top of page]
In re the petition of  [in left margin]
John Feather for a
writ of partition on
the estate
5    of
Cornelius Feather
Shff Moore on Rule  4.35
Shff on 2^d Rule      6.19
Advertising               4.00
Jury                           6.00
Shff Moore               8.87
Clerk Findley            6.50
Clerk Warner on report 3.25
Rec of Sheriff Moore two to apply on George
Beggs, Sam^l Logan Wm & Allen Hutchison
for their Jury fees.  George Beggs
Jany 24 1857.  Shff files T.A.
Robinson's  Receipt for his cash as Juror
being 50 cents.

Shff files the receipt of George & John M. [in margin]
Carringer for their fees as Jurors

"At an Orphans Court held at Mercer on and for the County of Mercer, on the 20th day of August A D 1855, the petition of John Feather son and heir of Cornelius Feather Dec^d late of Salem Township Mercer County, was presented setting forth: that your petitioner's said father Cornelius Feather lately died intestate leaving him surviving a widow since Dec^d and Issue, your petitioner and George Feather, and also the Issue of two Daughters of said Cornelius Feather towit, Cornelius A., and Ester Ann Milner, children of Mary Milner who was formerly Mary Feather, and said Ester Ann Milner being a miner and having no Guardian; and Eliza, David J., George W., Cornelius A., and Mary Carringer and Sarah, Henry, Loisa M., Matilda S. and Harvy M Carringer, all children of Sarah Carringer intermarried with Henry Carringer who was formerly Sarah Feather, of whom Sarah, Henry, Loiza, Matilda and Harvy are miners and have no Guardian chosen.  That said intestate died seized in his demesne as of fee, of and in a certain tract of land situate in Salem Township, Mercer County Penna bounded North by land of John Hurry's heirs, East by Harry Furnace property owned by Gen. Irvin, South by Said Irvine and lot sold to Charles Milner and West by J. Russell and containing six acres more or less.  Your petitioner therefore prays your honors to award an inquest to make partition of the premises aforesaid to and among the children and representatives of said intestate in such manner and such proportion as by the laws of this Commonwealth is directed.  If such partition can be made without prejudice to or spoiling the whole, but if such partition cannot be made thereof as aforesaid then to value and appraise the same and make report of their proceedings herein according to law and he will ever pray &c.

"August 20th 1855.  Rule to show cause granted returnable to first day of next term                    ............................................................................................................. per Curiam

"August 20th A D 1855.  Rule issued.

"Oct 11th 1855.  Served the within Rule on George Feather, Cornelius A. Milner, Eliza, David J., George W., Cornelius A. & Mary Carringer personally by reading, and on Chas. Milner Guardian of Esther Ann Milner, and Henry Carringer Guardian of Sarah, Henry, Louisa M., Matilda S. & Harvy M. Carringer personally by reading.  So A????
............................................................................................. John Moore Shff

"And now to wit Nov 21st 1855 On motion Court appoint D.W. Findley Guardian ad litem for Sarah Henry Loisa M Matilda S. and Harvy M. Carringer and award the writ of partition in the above case returnable to next Term personal notice on those in the County and to those out of the County by three advertisements in two newspapers in Mercer.  The last of which shall be ten days before the day of holding said Inquest.
 Nov 26 1855 Writ of partition issued

"Mercer County SS
An Inquisition indented and taken at Salem Township in the County of Mercer aforesaid this 5th day of January A D 1856 before John More Esqr. High Sheriff of said County by the oaths and affirmations of the jurors whose names and seal are hereunto annexed good and lawful men of my bailiwick who say upon their oath and affirmations, that having been taken by the said John Moore High Sheriff as aforesaid in his proper person to the premises described to the writ to this Inquisition annexed, and the parties in the said writ named having been severally warned and as many as those being present, that they cannot divide the within described premises without prejudice to or spoiling of the whole and they have therefore appraised and valued the same and do appraise and value the same at the rate of Seventeen dollars per acre.

"In testimony whereof the said John Moore Esqr High Sheriff as aforesaid as well as the jurors aforesaid have hereunto affixed their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
                                                               John Moore Shff {seal}
George Carringer  {seal}    John M. Carringer  {seal}   David P. Long {seal}
Wm Hutchison {seal}         Allen Hutchison {seal}       William Sheakley {seal}
Samuel Long {seal}            Andrew Robinson {seal}   T.A. Robinson {seal}
George Beggs {seal}          David Hadley {seal}          John Adams {seal}

"January 23rd 1856 presented and confirmed a Rule on heirs and legal representatives to appear on the first day on next term and accept or refuse the property at the valuation of the Inquisition or in case of refusal show cause why the property should not be sold.
                                                                                           per Curiam

"Rule Issued February 18th 1856
Samuel Griffith Esqr accepts Service for Cornelius Feather of the within Rule, D W Findley Guardian ad litem for Sarah Henry, Louiza M., Matilda L & Harvy M. Carringer accepts service of the within Rule.    So A???? John Moore Shff

"April 26th 1856.  On Motion the Court order and decree Sale of Said Real Estate described in said writ of partition and appoint John Moore Trustee to make date of the same.  Notice to be given by said Trustee in double the appraised value.  Terms one third in hand and bal in two equal annual payments with interest from consummation of sale.
                                                                                         per Curiam

"July 12th  Bond taken & order made out.

"To the Honorable the Judges of the Orphas Court of Mercer County Pa. John Moore Trustee by appointment of said Court respectfully reports that pursuant to the within order of this Court, he did after due public and timely notice, by him given of the time and place of sale according to the directions within mentioned on the 18th day of August A D 1856 Expose the premises within described to sale by public auction or outcry and sold the same to Peter Henry for the of one thousand & sixty dollars, he being the highest and best bidder and that the highest and best price bidden for the same, whereupon the Trustee your petitioner prays that your Honors may confirm the same.

"Nov 21 1856  Sale confirmed and deed ordered to be made to the purchaser on compliance with the terms of sale.                                                            By the Court

"Nov 22 1856  Court appoint Robert Taylor Esqr Auditor to distribute proceeds in hands of Sheriff arising from sale to and among the heirs & legal representatives 
Nov 22 1856  Certificate issued

"Jany 16 1857  Report presented & confirmed and distribution ordered accordingly                                   ....................................................................................... By the Court

"Jany 18 1858  On motion court appoint S.R. Mason Esqr an auditor to distribute money in hands of John Moore Esqr trustee for sale of Real Estate

"Jany 18 1858  Certificate issued

"March 15 1858  Auditor Report presented & filed and confirmed and distribution ordered accordingly.                                                                     By the Court

"And now April 19 1858 It appearing to the Court that the auditor appointed to distribute the funds in the hands of the Sheriff have overlooked six & 50/100 dollars of the Costs on partition the Court therefore order and decree that the report of S.R. Mason Esqr be corrected as follows to wit:

Balance for distribution among the heirs as 
per RS Masons Report                                           $366.33
from which didn't amount of Certs omitted               6.50
Bal for distribution among heirs =                        $359.83

Distributed
To George Feather 1/4                              ===  89 95 3/4
To John Feather 1/4                                  ===  89 95 3/4
To Cornelius A & Esther Ann Milner  }
    minor children of Mary Milner &c }       ===  89 95 3/4
To Eliza, David J., Geo. W., Cornelius }
    Mary, Sarah, Henry, Louisa M.       }
    Matilda S & Harvy M. minor chil   }
    dren of Sarah Carringer &c           }        === 89 95 3/4    359.83

By the Court   J. S. McCalmont
                       Pres^g Judge

Cornelius Feather is one of my 4th great-grandfathers.  I will collect and analyze what I learned from this probate paper in a subsequent post.

UPDATED:  22 February to add Geolover's corrections.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/amanuensis-monday-petition-for-writ-of.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

SNGF Genealogy OCD Posts Compendium

I want to give a shout out to these intrepid genea-bloggers who braved the call of this weekend's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (SNGF) to share their sense of humor with us:

*  Kim Mills on the Footsteps of the Past blog.

*  Deb Ruth on the Adventures in Genealogy blog.

*  Liz Tapley on The Tapley Tree ... and its Branches blog.

*  Colleen G. Brown Pasquale on the Leaves and Branches blog.

Lots of excellent Genealogy OCD sayings here.

I received one in email from reader Howland who said:  "A true compulsive would want the letters in alphabetical order" = G-CDO

Did anyone else play this weekend on this SNGF?

If I missed your SNGF blog post, please comment on this post or the SNGF post, or email me at rjseaver@cox.net.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/sngf-genealogy-ocd-posts-compendium.html

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 10 to 16 February 2013

Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:

*  Finding A Cousin - Kismet, Karma, Fate or Simple Simple Serendipity Made Possible by the New Golden Age of Genealogy?? by John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism blog.  John travels to be a geneablogger - I vote for simple serendipity.

*  Illinois Statewide Databases Online by Beth Foulk on the Genealogy Decoded blog.  This is a very helpful list.

*  Genealogy as Therapy by Amy Coffin on The We Tree Genealogy Blog.  Yes!!!  all the time.

*  Ancestor Disappeared? May Have Traveled Overseas by Kathleen Brandt on the a3Genealogy blog.  Kathleen shows some records for persons who might have died overseas or at sea.

*  Writing and Publishing Family History with Denise Levenick by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.  Lynn interviews Denise about her experiences writing and publishing her book.

*  Philippina's Choice by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  I love posts like this that expand my knowledge about legal issues and probate records.

*  Thought for the Day - Crowdfunding Genealogy by Blaine Bettinger on The Genetic Genealogist blog.  Blaine has excellent ideas on projects to crowdfund.  Can you think of more?

*  Follow Friday - Sutro Library or Not!! by Sandra Gardner Benward on the Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society blog.  Sandra and a Root Cellar group took a trip to the new Sutro Library in San Francisco, and shows us the library in pictures and text.

*  They said no by GeneJ on the They Came Before blog.  GeneJ did the right thing, asked GenealogyBank for permission to post an image of a pre-1923 obituary.  I wonder why?

Several genea-bloggers have been posting their experiences on the Unlock the Past cruise Down Under.  It's been fun reading about their classes and sightseeing.  Here are the ones I've seen:

*  Louis Kessler on Louis Kessler's Behold Blog. Unlock the Past Cruise, Day 1;  Days 2, 3 and 4; Day 5; Day 6

*  Jill Ball on the Geniaus blog:  Sydney Harbour; The More You Know...;  A Few Pics from Yesterday; Trove Tuesday - Modern Cruise Ship; Tuesday at Sea;  Touristing Takes Over;  R&R; Great Impromptu Session.

*  Helen V. Smith on the From Helen V. Smith's Keyboard blog:  3rd Unlock the Past Cruise 10 February 2013; Day 2;  Buried Treasures of the Parish Chest;  Tuesday Continued;   Day Four, Noumea; Days 5 & 6;

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week: 

*  Monday Morning Mentions by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.

*  Monday Recap for February 11, 2013 by Amanda on the Geni Blog.

* Blogs for Genealogists, February 8 by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.

*  Genealogy News Corral, Feb. 11-15 by Diane Haddad on the Genealogy Insider blog.

*  Follow Friday - Favorites for February 15, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves for Trees blog.

*  Moonshine, Civil War, Newspapers, and an Assassin. It's Follow Friday! by Anne Gillespie Mitchell on the Finding Forgotten Stories blog.

*  Follow Friday - Fab Finds for February 15, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Friday Finds - 02/15/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog blog.

*  Blogs for Genealogists, February 15 by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.

*  Weekly Genealogy Picks: Feb. 10-16 by John Newmark on the TransylvanianDutch blog.

I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 1350 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/best-of-genea-blogs-10-to-16-february.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Signs You Have GOCD

It's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun! 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I hope that all of you do!), is to:

1)  Read Michael John Neill's post 10 Signs You Have Genealogy OCD (come on, give Michael some link love) and the comments too (I know it's an old post, we did this in 2011 too!).

2)  Make up any number of sentences that will add to his list of signs that you have Genealogy OCD.  From one to many, no limit!  Be creative!!

3)  Share your ingenuity and humor with us in your own blog post, in Comments to this post, in comments to Michael's post, or in a comment on Google Plus or Facebook.

If we get a lot of good ones, I'll make a compendium post to share them with the genealogy world.

Here are some of mine:

*  You have every mobile device type (and in some cases, more than one), and every possible genealogy-related app, and they all need to be charged every night.

*  You show off your Ancestry.com app on your smart phone to persons you meet in "real life."

*  You work in your genealogy management program every day adding the source citations you should have added before you heard of Evidence! Explained.

*  You make an image of every document, paper or website that you search, and find, for your ancestors, and add it to the a research log for that person.   

*  You contribute your family tree to every new online family tree system that comes along in hopes of finding cousins with family information.

*  Your family vacations consist of visiting cousins in distant places along with genealogical conferences, seminars and cruises.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-signs-you.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - PIERCE (England > Massachusetts)

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

I am in the 7th great-grandmothers, up to number 563: Elizabeth PIERCE (1646-????). [Note: the 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through two American generations of this PIERCE family 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 (1755-1830)
71.  Hannah Horton (1761-1797)

140.  Thomas Dill (1708-1761)
141.  Mehitable Brown (1714-1758)

280.  Thomas Dill (1682-1718)
281.  Mary Pierce (1682-1713)

562.  Nathaniel Pierce, born 04 December 1655 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 1692 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 1124. Robert Pierce and 1125. Mary Knight.  He married 23 March 1679/80 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.
563.  Elizabeth Pierce, born 25 December 1646 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of Nathaniel Pierce and Elizabeth Pierce are:  Mary Pierce (1682-1713); Hannah Pierce (1684-????); Ichabod Pierce (1686-????).

1126.  Thomas Pierce, born about 1617 in probably Norwich, Norfolk, England; died 06 November 1683 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He married  06 May 1635 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.
1127.  Elizabeth Cole, born about 1619 in England; died 05 March 1687/88 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 2254. Rice Cole and 2255. Arrold Dunington.

Children of Thomas Pierce and Elizabeth Cole are:  Abigail Pierce (1639-1643); John Pierce (1643-1720); Thomas Pierce (1645-1717); Elizabeth Pierce (1646-????); Joseph Pierce (1648-1649); Joseph Pierce (1649-1716); Stephen Pierce (1651-1733); Samuel Pierce (1654-1656); Samuel Pierce (1656-1721); William Pierce (1657-1720); James Pierce (1659-1742); Abigail Pierce (1660-1719); Benjamin Pierce (1662-1739).

2252.  Thomas Pierce, born about 1584 in probably Norwich, Norfolk, England; died 07 October 1666 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.  He married about 1610 in England.
2253.  Elizabeth, born about 1595 in England; died after 22 March 1666/67 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Thomas Pierce and Elizabeth are:  John Pierce (1610-????); Thomas Pierce (1617-1683); Elizabeth Pierce (1619-1692); Robert Pierce (1621-1706); Persis Pierce (1626-1683); Mary Pierce (1628-1703); Samuel Pierce (1630-1678).

This line is complicated because 562. Nathaniel Pierce (his father was Robert Pierce (1621-1706)) and 563. Elizabeth Pierce were first cousins (it was Nathaniel's second marriage, Elizabeth's third marriage).

Resources used to obtain the Pierce family information includes:

*  Frederic Beech Pierce, Pierce Genealogy (Worcester, Mass.: Charles Hamilton Press, 1882).

*  Joan S. Guilford, The Ancestry of Dr. J.P. Guilford (Sheridan Psychological Services, Inc., 1990), Volume 1, page 607.

*  Massachusetts town vital record books.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Five Weeks Until RootsTech 2013 - Early Bird Registration Extended!!

I received this from RootsTech 2013 as an Official Blogger:

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

Dear Official Blogger,

We're five weeks from RootsTech 2013 and counting down!

We have two communications for you to share with your blog readers.

FIRST:

Early bird registration has been extended for one more week.  The $149 price will expire on 2/22/2013.  We've seen some great momentum in registrations this week. So, we want to give every opportunity for folks to take advantage of the reduced price on a full conference pass.  After 2/22 the price will move to a "last chance" price of $179 for a full conference pass. The "last chance" price will expire on 3/16, at which point the price will go to $219.

SECOND:

As you know, Story@Home is a new addition to RootsTech this year.  Story@Home offers class sessions with award-winning storytellers, performers, and speakers to help attendees explore ways to use the power of story to connect with their family.  We're excited about the new perspective and dimension Story@Home adds to the RootsTech experience.  You can learn more about Story@Home at www.rootstech.org/stories.

Our friends at Story@Home are running an Instagram Photo Contest.  Official RootsTech bloggers are invited to help spread the word.  Here are the contest details:

Prize: Story@Home + Getting Started pass ($79 value)

Access to all Story@Home classes and Getting Started classes all three days of RootsTech

Contest Dates: February 20th-24th

To participate in the contest:

*  Snap a picture you think tells a story. Examples include family, friends, places, events, mementos anything that has meaning for you.  

*  Upload the photo to Instagram and share with us what story your photo tells. Include the hashtags #tellyourstory and #storyathome.

Winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced on the Story@Home Facebook page Monday, February 25th. "Like" us on Facebook to find out if you've won: https://www.facebook.com/pages/StoryHome/175409965858537?ref=ts&fref=ts.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/five-weeks-until-rootstech-2013-early.html

What's New at the Chula Vista Genealogical Society

One of my other "genealogy hats" is working with my local genealogical society, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS), in the San Diego area.  My tasks include:

1)  Newsletter Editor
2)  Research/Queries Chairman
3)  Blogger for the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog

Recent blog posts on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog cover all of these activities, and more:

*  Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - February 2013

*  CVGS Spring Seminar is Saturday, 30 March: CeCe Moore on DNA

*  Program Review - "Creating Your Life's Story"

*  CVGS Newsletter for February 2013 is Available

*  February 2013 Research Group Summary

CVGS usually has four monthly meetings for the members and guests:

1)  Saturday Workshops (usually first Saturday) at Bonita-Sunnyside Library in the Community Room; this is usually a two-hour hands-on session with presentation, discussion and research help.  Susi Pentico coordinates this meeting.

2)  Research Group Meeting (usually second Wednesday) at 12 noon at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library in the Conference Room or Auditorium;  this is usually a two-hour discussion and question/answer session.  Randy Seaver coordinates this meeting.

3)  Computer Group meeting (usually third Wednesday) at 12 noon at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library in the Computer Lab;  this is a two-hour discussion group with hands-on computer opportunities.  Shirley Becker coordinates this meeting.

4)  Program Meeting (usually last Wednesday) at 12 noon at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library in the Auditorium;  this is a short business meeting and a presentation by a speaker on a genealogy/family history topic.

See the monthly Genealogy Days in Chula Vista blog post for more details.  Here's February's!

CVGS has a web page at www.CVGenealogy.org, and a Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/ChulaVistaGenealogicalSociety.

If you are in the San Diego area, and can attend a Saturday or mid-day Wednesday meeting, we would love to have you attend any or all of our meetings.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/whats-new-at-chula-vista-genealogical.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Follow Up Friday - This Week's Helpful and Interesting Reader Comments

It's Friday, and time to highlight helpful and interesting reader comments on Genea-Musings posts from the last week.

1)  On Tombstone Tuesday - Samuel and Mary Ann Vaux (12 February 2013):

*  Marshall helped:  "Re: Request a photo.  The button is right there "Request a photo".  You'll be asked to register, so FindAGrave knows how to get in touch with you, and then you're good to go.  It's really simple."

My comment:  Yes, it is simple once you find the button!  You have to register on Find A Grave, then you can request a photo.  I've submitted two requests.  Thanks for the help, Marshall.

*  Geolover noted:  "The sources of the dates for your two Vaux entries are not given. The birth and death dates are not necessarily from the gravestones. No one should assume that dates in the findagrave memorials are from the gravestones.

"A huge number of findagrave entries are not actual gravestone readings. Sources might be death records, obituaries or published genealogies. Many items posted are just extracts from published purported cemetery readings which may have dates added from other sources. Many entries are just genealogical assertions that have nothing to do with documented burial in a specific place."

My comment:  Excellent warnings...and all researchers should understand them.  The situation where the gravestone inscription is visible in the picture and is provided on the Find A Grave memorial is more authoritative, to me, than a memorial that has no picture or inscription.  

The Find A Grave memorial for a person is a source (albeit a Derivative source) and the information is Secondary information, but it is a finding aid to more authoritative or complete sources.  I'm writing source citations when I use Find A Grave to find information about persons in my database because it is a source.  For my ancestors, like Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux, I am searching for the better source.  In this case, I believe that the source for the information is cemetery index cards that are on an FHL microfilm.  It's still a Derivative source, but it may be the best I can find unless a Vaux family Bible pops up.

*  Cormac said:  ">I can hear readers saying 'But you don't know if the dates are correct!' and 'Find A Grave is not a reliable source!'  You stoled my thunder!"

My comment:  Yep, I knew what my smart readers would say if I didn't do it first!

2)  On Finding Plat Maps for the James Vaux Land Holdings (5 February 2013):

*  Joanna Richmond noted:  "Following on from your last email on this topic you said that you tried it but got an html. Using Chrome I use the same method. I use ancestry.com's print option, wait for the print sidebar to come up then cancel the print. This leaves the tab with the image which I right-click and choose save. It saves as a jpg file. A census image I saved was around 13 mb so not too bad for manipulating."

My comment:  Thanks for the tip, Joanna.  That works!

*  Doris Wheeler commented:  "I've recently discovered that Evernote does an amazing job of capturing all or any part of an entire website. It's a one-click operation, and I love it!"

My comment:  Thanks for the very useful tip, Doris.  Help me out - I'm not a sophisticated user of EverNote.  How do you capture all of a website (or do you mean web page?)?   Aha, maybe you mean Evernote Web Clipper?

3)  On 'Tis a Mystery - What do these numbers mean? (8 February 2013):

*  John said:  "Curiously similar to the 'Northings' figure for the Wiltshire area, if one ignores the last number.   Eastings and Northings, which are sometimes used in conjunction with latitude and longitude.  This could be coincidence.  http://ukpostcodedata.com/postcode/SN8-3HU "

and then:  "Alas, the number I saw next to a name for someone from Oxfordshire (1673116), doesn't match up with the appropriate Northing."

*  Kim Mills noted:  "I see numbers like this in locations for Canada to. I've always wondered what it was for."

*  Tolley Family Historian offered:  "There is a Clergy of the Church of England database that lists parishes and other information:  http://www.theclergydatabase.org.uk/reference/loclist.html

Every location has a code number which varies in length. Searching by county, Wiltshire does seem to have a lot of codes that begin "16....". A quick look at some other counties seem to suggest leading digits may code for major location. The specific example of 1679745 isn't found, but then that information relates to a long time back in history, and maybe that parish has long been abolished, merged or otherwise vanished."

*  Ruby commented:  "Since this Prater is my father's line I got curious.  I emailed the tree owner, but her page says her last login was 2 months ago. So, not really expecting an answer."

*  Joanna Richmond said:  "Being from England I think they are the numbers for the National Ordinance Maps that identify the location of the place. These are always 2 sets of 3 numbers for North-South and East-West. I have not verified this but that is what they look like. Canada probably uses the same system due to their English ancestry."

*  John commented on Joanna's comment:  "But these are 7 digit numbers. and the Ordnance System appears to require a 2 letter prefix as well."

My comment:  Thank you all for trying to figure out this puzzle.  We're still stumped, I think.  There must be a master list of these somewhere...but I fear it's not on the internet, since a Google search doesn't find it.  Is it out of a reference book like Phillemore that lists all of the parishes?

4)  On Amanuensis Monday - Biography of James Richmond (1821-1912) (4 May 2012):

*  KMM noted:  "Two confirming sources for the story above:

http://www.monroehistorical.org/articles/files/020106_sheepsuit.html
https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H064337_01H.pdf

"Stroudsburg United Methodist Church records indicate that James Richmond, Jr., and his family resided near the woolen mill in Stroudsburg at the time."

My comment:  KMM is administering the AncestryDNA of B.E.R. who is my third cousin, and a descendant of James Richmond.  We're discussing the DNA and the Richmond families in email now.  The links make it pretty clear that my 2nd-great-grandfather, James Richmond (of Putnam, Conn.), was not the man in charge of the "Sheep-to-Suit" project, but it was the son, James Richmond, Jr. (of Stroudsburg, Penn.).  Genea-Blogging works!

5)  On UPDATED: Genealogist Beware - Checking Out Genealogy.us.org (14 January 2013):

*  Josh (responding to earlier complaints about the site) commented:  "We are concerned about this problem and would like to fix it for you. Our apologies for any inconveniences caused by our charges. If you would like a refund for the charges made to your account please email manager@recordaccount.com to request immediate action.  Thanks for sharing and we hope to solve this for you soon.

Customer Support"

My comment:  There you go, Genea-Musings readers.  If you feel like you've been ripped off by this site, email them and get your refund.  If that works out for you, I'd like to know about it.

6)  Thank you to all of my readers for their helpful and interesting comments.  I appreciate your efforts, and success, in defeating the Captcha code necessary to keep the comment spam down to a steady stream.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/02/follow-up-friday-this-weeks-helpful-and.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver