Janet Hovorka Announces New Activity Book Series for Youth

I received this press release this morning from my friend and colleague, Janet Hovorka:

--------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Janet Hovorka, 801-472-1091, janethovorka@gmail.com

New Activity Book Series Brings Youthful Fun To Family History

Cedar Hills, UT – November 6^th, 2013 –

Studies have shown that greater knowledge about family history especially strengthens and empowers youth by creating self-esteem, resilience and a greater sense of control over their lives.  Learning about the family’s past also strengthens the relationships between living family members by creating a shared experience and core identity that no one else in the world can duplicate. 

To help families achieve these great benefits authors Janet Hovorka and Amy Slade have developed a new series of “Zap The Grandma Gap--My Ancestor” activity books.  The first four books, My British Ancestor, My Civil War Ancestor, My Swedish Ancestor and My German Ancestor are 52 page activity books designed for 6-14 year olds with puzzles, activities, games and recipes combined with questions and learning opportunities about specific ancestors and the culture that surrounded them.  Timelines, paper dolls, coloring pages, maps, fairy tales, music, dot to dots and crossword puzzles combine to give youth the full picture of what their ancestors’ lives were like.  When pre-ordered now, the books will arrive in time to prompt questions around the Thanksgiving table.  Or they can become the perfect Christmas gift for children and grandchildren that will create stronger bonds in modern families by encouraging the whole family to learn about their ancestors together.  Sample pages from the books can be viewed on the website and blog at ZapTheGrandmaGap.com where they join other online and print resources to help families connect to each other by connecting to their past.   

With the My British Ancestor Activity Book youth can:

• ·         Discover online and offline resources for finding more information about your British roots
•         Compare British Schools to today’s schools
• ·         Solve puzzles about different British homes
• ·         Complete a crossword puzzle about British words your ancestors used
• ·         Learn about and participate in a British holiday
• ·         Plan a proper British family history tea party
• ·         Play British games your ancestors may have played
• ·         And explore many other activities

With the My German Ancestor Activity Book youth can:

• ·         Record how you are related to your German ancestor
• ·         Try some German recipes
• ·         Read a German Fairy Tale your ancestors might have known.
• ·         Color and cut out German paper dolls to tell the stories of your ancestors
• ·         Collect documents about your German ancestor’s life
• ·         Make a Schultute School Bag like your ancestors may have received for school.
• ·         Explore some of the qualities you share with your German Ancestor
• ·         And explore many other activities

With the My Civil War Ancestor Activity Book youth can:

• ·         Discover online and offline resources for finding more information about your Civil War ancestors
• ·         Follow a dot to dot about an important Civil War landmark
• ·         Try some of the food eaten by the Civil War soldiers
• ·         Learn some Civil War songs and bugle calls
• ·         Create a military band with homemade instruments
• ·         Record the battles in which your ancestors were involved
• ·         Write a eulogy for your Civil War ancestor
• ·         And explore many other activities

With the My Swedish Ancestor Activity Book youth can:

• ·         Place your Swedish ancestor in the context of broader Swedish history
• ·         Complete a crossword puzzle about Swedish words your ancestors used
• ·         Learn about and create items for a Swedish holiday
• ·         Color and cut out Swedish paper dolls to tell the stories of your ancestors
• ·         Write a letter to your Swedish ancestor
• ·         Design and color a drawing of a Dala horse such as your ancestor might have played with
• ·         Involve your whole family in the fun of learning about your Swedish ancestors
• ·         And explore many other activities

The “My Ancestor” activity books are designed to give kids ownership of their own family history.  “These books help young kids take the lead in learning about their family history for themselves,” says Hovorka.  “As they accomplish the activities together with the help of their parents and grandparents, they strengthen modern family bonds while they are strengthening their identity with the past.”  Parents and grandparents who teach children who they are and where they came from give youth a secure identity from which to draw courage as they encounter the challenges in their lives. 

The authors, sisters Janet Hovorka and Amy Slade grew up in a family history oriented home, but didn’t realize how much they were learning about their family history until later in life.   Throughout Janet’s 12 years as a popular genealogy speaker, co-owner of a family history company, genealogy instructor at SLCC, and as past president of the Utah Genealogical Association, she has witnessed over and over again how family history can heal the relationships in a family.  Her books Zap The Grandma Gap: Connect To Your Family By Connecting Them To Their Family History, and Zap The Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook have helped families connect with their roots through the real life examples drawn from Janet’s own experiences with her teenage children.   Over the last 8 years, Amy has traveled studying folklore, dance and food and culture around the world and recently received her Masters Degree in Folklore from George Mason University.  Together, they are living proof that exploring your family history helps strengthen relationships with living family members.

My German Ancestor (ISBN 978-09888-548-5-7), My Swedish Ancestor (ISBN 978-09888-548-4-0) My Civil War Ancestor (ISBN 978-09888548-3-3) and My British Ancestor (ISBN 978-09888-548-2-6), (Family ChartMasters Press, $9.95, 52 pages, 8.5x11, paperback) are available for pre-order at zapthegrandmagap.com.

XXX

CONTACT: Janet Hovorka, 801-472-1091, janethovorka@gmail.com

--
Janet Hovorka
www.janethovorka.com
Have you seen my new book?  Zap The Grandma Gap: Connect with your family by connecting them to their family history.  Available at www.zapthegrandmagap.com
Development Director--Family Chart Masters (www.familychartmasters.com)
2011-2013 President--Utah Genealogical Association (www.ugagenealogy.org)
Genealogy Instructor--Salt Lake Community College (www.slcc.edu)

facebook.com/janethovorka
twitter.com/familychartmstr
801-472-1091

Thank you to Janet and Amy for providing useful resources for families to help interest their children and grandchildren in family history.

The URL for this post is:

SDGS Meeting on Saturday, 9 November Features Jean Wilcox Hibben

The November meeting of the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) is this Saturday, 9 November 2013, at 10 a.m. at Saint Andrews Lutheran Church (8350 Lake Murray Blvd., just south of Jackson Drive) in San Diego.

The featured speaker for both sessions (10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.) is Jean Wilcox Hibben.  Jean will speak on:

1) Who is That? Why did Your Ancestors Associate with Apparent Strangers?

In doing family research, it is not uncommon to find your ancestor sharing a household with apparent non-family members or buried in the same plot with a family with a different surname. Sometimes “odd” names will appear as witnesses or testifiers on your ancestors’ legal documents or vice versa. The “unknowns” bear examination: they may be extended family or give clues to other members of your tree. This program explores these strangers, where you might encounter them, and how to research their identity. Designed for those with genealogy experience. A short description of working with the Historical Records Collection at FamilySearch.org is included.

2) County Websites: An Overlooked Resource

A large amount of helpful information can be found on websites maintained by volunteers; one type of these is the county site – supplying information of interest to genealogical researchers.  Those who attend this class will learn about how to locate such sites, the different types of information available, how to navigate the sites, etc.  Especially good for beginning researchers.

Jean's CV:

Jean Wilcox Hibben; PhD, MA, CG, has been involved in family research for about 35 years. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG, where she serves as Vice-President), the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE, where she serves as Western Regional Representative), the California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA, where she serves as Awards Chair and Parliamentarian), various societies in the areas where she does research, and the Corona Genealogical Society (where she serves as Vice-President). Jean is a Board member for the Association of Professional Genealogists and is past-President of the Southern California Chapter. She maintains her own website with information about her presentations, CDs, projects, etc.: www.circlemending.org.

I look forward to hearing these two presentations (they will be new for me) and seeing Jean (and Butch?) again.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/sdgs-meeting-on-saturday-9-november.html

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 281: Poodle Skirts, Leather Jacket, Coonskin Cap, Hair

I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't Wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I am incapable of having a wordless post.

Here's another picture from my 70th birthday party two weeks ago:

I couldn't resist showing this picture.  The grandchildren were really into the 1950's theme and came dressed up - the girls in their poodle skirts, Mary Janes and pink glasses, and the boys in their James Dean (leather jacket, shades and Davy Crockett coonskin cap) white shirts and jeans.  Grandpa came in a Disneyland T-shirt (I was there in 1956!) and hair (yes, I had hair in the 1950s).  Of course, the hair was a butch-wax flat top then...but I don't have enough left to do that and couldn't find the butch wax (I guess I could have ruined Linda's wig but .... no!).

From the left, that's Lauren (age 8), Audrey (age 5), Randy (age 70, a big kid at heart), Logan (age 7) and Lucas (age 10) in the picture.  My daughter, Tami, took this picture and hundreds more, and has kindly let me post it to social media.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-281.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Who Messed Up my Original Image "Interactive View" on Ancestry.com??? FIXED!!!

UPDATED 4 p.m. on 6 November 2013:  Ancestry.com has been fixed for me somehow - see my post at http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/whew-ancestrycom-is-working-well-for-me.html

I have no clue what's happened to my "Original Image" view on Ancestry.com.  Is it something that has happened to my Ancestry.com cookies or something?

I noticed it for the first time last night - I did a search for my grandfather in the 1940 U.S. Census and got the record summary, and clicked on the "View image" link, and saw this:

The header material takes up half the page.  I could not Save the image using the "Save" button - the links that usually appear were not active.

Today, I did the same search and the screen above still appeared.  But then it quickly (within seconds) switched to the view below:

And down at the bottom of the web page, it looked like:

I noted that I was using the "Interactive Viewer" for the search above.  When I chose the "Basic viewer" on the Record Summary page, I saw:

At least I can use the "Basic Viewer" for my searches but I usually use the "Interactive Viewer."

I also did the same search from within the RootsMagic WebSearch and did not have the problem.

Maybe I should try it on my laptop too.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Will signing in and out of Ancestry.com solve the problem?  Will deleting my browser cookies solve the problem?  Or is it an Ancestry.com problem?

I emailed my Ancestry.com contact asking about this perceived problem this morning, but have heard nothing back yet.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/who-messed-up-my-original-image-view-on.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Crowdsourcing Results: Louis B. Powell Death Notice and Obituary

Last week, in CrowdSourcing Opportunity: When and Where did John Louis Powell Die? (posted 29 October 2013), I described the question raised by my friend, John, about his grandfather's death date and death place.  Yesterday, I posted the newspaper article describing the attack on Louis B. Powell in Crowdsourcing Results: Louis B. Powell Attacked in Drumright, Oklahoma.

I received two more articles from Luin, found at the Oklahoma Historical Society, in a genuine Random Act of Genealogical Kindness:  

1)  The first one defines the death date and place of Louis B. Powell:

The transcription of the article in the Cushing [Okla.] Daily Citizen newspaper, dated 20 October 1935, page 1, is:

"Victim of Hatchet Altercation Dies"

"OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 19 -- (U.P.) -- Injuries received in an altercation in which a hatchet was allegedly used upon him, today proved fatal to Louis B. Powell, 30-year-old farmer living near Drumright.

"Powell died at a hospital here, of a skull fracture and other injuries.

"Creek county officers are holding the man who allegedly struck Powell with a hatchet two weeks ago."

So that article defines the date of death as 19 October 1935 in Oklahoma City.

2)  The second article provides an obituary that names family members:

This article is from The Daily Derrick [Drumright, Okla.] newspaper dated Sunday, 20 October 1935, on page 1.  The transcription of the article is:

"LOUIS POWELL RITES MONDAY

"Service at Olive School; Burial At Rose Hill Cemetery

"The body of Louis B. Powell, 34, of Olive, who succumbed at 8:30 Friday night in the University hospital at Oklahoma City, will be laid to rest Monday afternoon following funeral services at the Olive school.

"Services will begin at 3 p.m. with the Rev. George P. Drake, pastor of the First Baptist Church here, preaching the funeral services and officiating.  The body will be taken to the Rose Hill cemetery for burial.

"The death of Powell followed a cerebral operation at 2 o'clock Friday morning for the removal of a blod clot on the brain.  Hospital attendants for a time after the operation believed that he had an excellent chance of recovering.

"Powell had been making his home with his mother, Mrs. J. Cis Powell in the Olive community since last January.  He moved here from Marshal, Okla., where he was an employe of the Shell Oil company for seven years.  He attended school as a boy at Schlegal and was well known in that community.

"Surviving relatives other than his mother include two sisters, Mrs. Ruby Adams, of Olive, and Mrs. Don Mead, of Oklahoma City.  He also leaves a wife and three children, Agnes Gene, 12; Alfred Nil, 8; and David Louis, 6.

"The Stubblefield funeral directors are incharge."

This article indicates that he died on Friday, 18 October in Oklahoma City.

The listing of his mother and the three children removes all doubt that I had about having the right person in this elusive person hunt.  My friend John's mother was known as "Jean Agnes." All three children were listed in the 1930 U.S. Census with parents Louis B. and Ethel Powell.  In the 1920 U.S. Census, Louis Powell resided with his mother "Jeis" and his sisters Ruby and Lucy.  "Jeis" name was, apparently, "Icis," according to several online family trees for some of these families.

The Find A Grave memorial for Louis B. Powell indicates that he died on 18 October 1935, and that matches the obituary death date.

3)  I also learned that Icis was still alive at the time of the obituary, and I found her Find A Grave memorial, as Icis Reeves Powell, in Blackwell Cemetery in Blackwell, Kay County, Oklahoma.  That provided her maiden name, and I was able to find several more generations of Reeves families in Ancestry Member Trees, which provides leads for more authoritative records. Icis's husband name was apparently Raleigh Ross Powell, and there are Ancestry Member Trees that include him also, although I've struggled to find records for him.

4)  The task here was to determine the death date and place of John Louis Burr Powell, father of Agnes Jean Powell, who was John's mother.  I think that I've accomplished that thanks to Luin and her act of genealogical kindness of doing the lookup in the Oklahoma Historical Society, and my friends and colleagues who responded to my crowdsourcing invitation.

One special note:  My friend and colleague Russ Worthington created an FTM 2014 database and private Ancestry Member Tree in order to help me sort out this research problem.  He also asked important questions, and offered hypotheses, to keep me on the right research track.

I'm in the process of providing my friend John with all of the information I've found so far. I hope that this helps him with his family probate problem.

There are still several unresolved issues:

*  My friend John gave me the name of John Louis Burr Powell based on information from his mother.  I have found no record that has the given name John.  The probate index record that Sharon found is for a Burel Powell (which I believe is this person, but don't have any evidence for it).

*  My friend John has a picture of himself as a baby with a man who was identified by family as his grandfather.  My friend John was born in 1941, and his grandfather, Louis B. Powell) died in 1935.  So who is in the photograph with my friend John?  It may be his mother's second husband, Loy U. Lathem (but he died in 1943).  It may be an uncle or cousin of Louis Powell, and it may be a brother, uncle or cousin of Ethel, the wife of Louis B. Powell.

*  I don't know Ethel's maiden name or parents and siblings names.  

5)  Once again, crowdsourcing by putting information on the Internet to a group of readers, or searchers, really works well!  Asking for help is an excellent way to obtain information and research suggestions.  The one who posts that information should be willing to "give back" to the genealogy community, and should give credit to those that help with the research problem.  I often tell my CVGS Research Group that "Each person knows something about genealogy, but no one knows everything about genealogy, and the knowledge of a group exceeds that of any one person in the group."  In this case, "my group" is Genea-Musings readers - about 4,000 of them read this blog every day.  Thank you all!!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/crowdsourcing-results-louis-b-powell.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Tombstone Tuesday - Philip Jacob King (1764-1829) in Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pennsylvania

I've been finding many burial locations of my ancestors and distant relatives using the MyHeritage record matching system, and want to share some of them in the Tombstone Tuesday series.

Here is the Find A Grave page image for Philip Jacob King (1764-1829) buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in York, York County, Pennsylvania:

The Find A Grave memorial provides a birth date and death date, and notes that he was the son of Philip J. and Maria King, husband of Christina Johnston, and a Revolutionary War veteran.

The gravestone inscription says:

Sacred

to the memory 

of

Philip J. King

who was born February

24th 1764 

and departed this life

March 2nd 1829

aged 65 Years

and 6 days

Philip Jacob King is one of my 4th great-grandfathers.  His parents were Philip Jacob King and Maria Barbara Wilhelm.  His first wife was Catherine Ruth (1770-1813), by whom he had 12 children, including my ancestor Elizabeth King (1796-1863).  His second wife was Christina (Miller) Johnston (1766-1833), whose gravestone is also in this cemetery.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/tombstone-tuesday-philip-jacob-king.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Attaching Documents to Persons in the FamilySearch Family Tree

I wrote about attaching photographs to persons in the FamilySearch Family Tree in FamilySearch Photos Is Open (posted 15 April 2013).  

Now, a user can upload document images also, according to the FamilySearch blog in More Updates to FamilySearch Photos and Stories -- October 29, 2013 by Steve Anderson.  There is a Content Submission Agreement that contributors should read, and there are guidelines that appear in a popup window when the user starts to upload an image (either Photo or Document).

I decided to upload only some of my scanned or collected documents.  I don't want to upload document images that I've downloaded from a website other than FamilySearch (e.g., Ancestry.com scanned census images, Find A Grave gravestone photos, Fold3 Revolutionary War pension file pages).  For some of those, I can find the document images on FamilySearch, or I can attach FamilySearch record summaries to the Sources in the Family Tree.  I want to upload only those images that are out of copyright protection (e.g., publications before 1923, or government documents), are under my copyright protection (e.g., photographs or family papers), or are from FamilySearch.

Here is the upload process for those who haven't seen it before:

1)  From my grandfather's Profile, I saw the "Photos and Documents" link in the menu row below the name:

2)  I clicked on the "Photos and documents" link and that screen opened (I already had two photographs uploaded for him):

3)  I clicked on the "Add Photo" link on the screen above, and then was told o click on the green "+" icon - the text beside it says "Drag and drop or click to add family photos here" and below that "We support .jpg, .png and .pdf up to 15 MB."

4)  After clicking on the green "+" icon, and one more click, my file folder "Open" window opened and I clicked to the file folder with documents for my grandfather:

5)  From the "Open" window above, I clicked on the document for his Death Certificate and clicked on the "Open" button in order to upload it.  After a short period of time, the screen below opened showing a place holder for the document I uploaded:

6)  It took about 10-20 minutes for the document to appear on the "Attach Photos" page.  There is a placeholder that says "Completed" until the image is uploaded and approved:

After some time, the document image appears in the "Attach Photos" page (it's the one on the left):

After another ten minutes, the image still does not show on my grandfather's "Photos and Documents" page.  I imagine that it will at a future time.

7)  With this addition of Document images, FamilySearch is close to completing the FamilySearch Family Tree design.  I'm sure that they will add more new features over time and improve the Tree, but it looks to me like it is fairly complete.  What more is there to do?  Perhaps some sort of Report capability.

One of the real problem areas in Family Tree is duplicate Persons caused by the many submissions of historical persons; the duplicate persons need to be merged and their profiles streamlined to eliminate wrong or duplicate material.  I would like to see some sort of curator team for sets of famous persons (e.g., Mormon pioneers, Mayflower Passengers, Jamestowne settlers, British Royals, etc.) who could manage that process in an orderly way using authoritative and peer-reviewed reference sources.  It is these duplicate persons that will keep the FamilySearch Family Tree from being accurate and really useful.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/attaching-documents-to-personms-in.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Crowdsourcing Results: Louis B. Powell Attacked in Drumright, Oklahoma

Last week, in CrowdSourcing Opportunity: When and Where did John Louis Powell Die? (posted 29 October 2013), I described the question raised by my friend, John, about his grandfather's death date and death place.  I found a 1920 U.S. census record (with his mother and three sisters) and a 1930 U.S. census record for him (with his wife and three children), and a possible Find A Grave memorial page.  I was unsure that the memorial was him because it didn't jibe with my friend John's photograph which purported to show John as a young child with his grandfather after 1941.  

In my post, I asked my readers to provide suggestions for further research after my two hour foray into online records.  Several did, and you can read them in the comments to my blog post.  

One commenter, Luin, saw my blog post on Tuesday and went to the Oklahoma History Library on Thursday and found three articles about Louis B. Powell's demise within one hour.  She has sent them to me as digital images, and I want to unfold the story in two parts, one at a time.  

Here is the first article, from The Daily Derrick [Drumright, Oklahoma] newspaper, dated 8 October 1935, on the front page, column 2:

The transcription of the Powell article is:

"HULSEY HELD IN JAIL HERE FOR ATTACK WITH AX

"Louis B. Powell, 33, Farmer, to Hospital with "50-50" Chance of Recovery

"Lon Hulsey, 42, of Drumright is being held in jail and Louis B. Powell, who lvies in the Olive community and gives his occupation as that of a farmer, is in a hospital with a fractured skull as the result of an altercation in which Hulsey is alleged to have chopped Powell in the head three times with a small ax.

"Officers investigating the case said the fight took place at the home of Ollie Mitchell Brannon, who lives on east Second street between Virginia and Kentucky avenue.  The men are alleged to have fought over Hulsey's wife.

"Hulsey was said by police to have found his wife in company with Powell at the Brannon home.  The fight ensued.  Hulsey has made no statement relative to the fight other than saying "He run at me and I hit him."  Officers were told by witnesses however, that Hulsey struck Powell with a small ax or hatchet.  The injuries on Powell's head substantiated that statement.

"Mrs. Hulsey is suing her husband for divorce.  She has not maintained a separate residence, however, from her husband, but has lived with him at the home of John Baxter, corner of Federal street and Virginia avenue.  The case is now pending in court.  Mrs. Hulsey is said to have become acquainted with Powell while her husband was in the county jail at Sapulpa on whiskey charges.

"The physician attending Powell said that the man had a "fifty-fifty" chance of recovery.  Powell is a well built man who stands about 5 feet 10 inches and weighs approximately 195 pounds.  He is said to be separated from his wife and the father of two children.  He has been making his home of late with his widowed mother, Mrs. Icis Powell, in the Olive community.

"Officers say that Powell has "caused quite a bit of trouble" the last few months.  He is at present under a stay bond from both county court and city court here for drunkeness and drunken driving.  He was taken to the hospital here by Mrs. Hulsey and Tommy Tucker.  Hulsey was arrested by police at the Baxter place.

"The injuries sustained by Powell are to the back of the head and appears as though they might have been inflicted as he ran toward Hulsey in a ducking position.  Two of the blows were seemingly struck with the sharp edge of the ax and the third blow with the blunt edge of the instrument.

"Officers are awaiting the outcome of Powell's injuries to thoroughly investigate the case and were not sure Tuesday whether Hulsey took the ax with him or obtained it at the Brannan place.  Powell's mother has not indicated whether or not she will press charges if her son survives.  Mrs. Hulsey and Mrs. Brannan were witnesses of the fight.

"Powell is said to have spent several years of his life as a professional wrestler.  He also is said to have lived in the Schlegal community at one time and to have discovered his ability as a wrestler while in school there.  He has been known to officers here the last three months.

"Hulsey is also reported to have struck Mrs. Hulsey across the head with the broadside of the ax during the melee."

This story is fascinating in so many ways.  John was told by his mother that his grandfather was attached or murdered, and this article bears that out if this is actually John's grandfather.

It is almost certain (to me, at least) that the Louis B. Powell of the article is the Louis B. Powell of the 1920 U.S. Census, 1930 U.S. Census and the Find A Grave memorial.  This article names his mother as Icis Powell (Ancestry.com had indexed it as Jeis Powell in the 1920 census, and my later reading was perhaps Iris Powell).  

The next post in this series will provide two articles that describe what happened after 8 October 1935 regarding Louis B. Powell.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/louis-b-powell-attacked-in-drumright.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Amanuensis Monday - Post 193: John Phillips to Peter Brewer Deed in 1754 in Southborough, Mass.

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 a land deed in Worcester County, Massachusetts dated 25 September 1752, signed on 30 March 1754, and recorded on 29 October 1765, transferring two parcels of land in Southborough, Worcester County from John Phillips to Peter Brewer for 74 pounds, 13 shillings and 4 pence (right hand page on the image below):

A transcription of the deed recorded in the Worcester County Deed Books by the Deed Registrar is (handwritten portions in italics, transcribed line by line):

1 Phillips to Brewer

2 To all People to whom these presents shall come, Greeting,

3 Know Ye, That I, John Phillips of Southborough in the County

4 of Worcester and Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New

5 England Husbandman

6 For and in Consideration of the Sum of Seventy four pounds thirteen shillings & four pence

7 to me in Hand before the Ensealing thereof, well and truly paid by, Peter Brewer of

8 Southborough aforesaid Husbandman

9 the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, and myself, therewith fully satisfied and

10 contented; and thereof, and of every Part and Parcel thereof, do exonerate, acquit and discharge

11 him the said Peter Brewer his

12 Heirs, Executors and Administrators, forever by these Presents: HAVE give, granted, bargained, sold,

13 aliened, conveyed and confirmed; and by these Presents, Do freely, fully and absolutely give, grant,

14 bargain, sell, aliene, convey, and confirm unto him the said Peter Brewer his

15 Heirs and Assigns forever, two Certain pieces of land both upland

16 and Meadow ground situate lying and Being in Southborough aforesaid one

17 piece Containing Eight Acres and a half and fifteen Rods be it same more or less

18 and is bounded at the Northeasterly Corner a Stake and heaps of Stones and is Easterly bounded

19 by land of aforesaid Peter Brewer, and on the land of William Collins to a white Pine Tree

20 at the Southeasterly Corner, and is Bounded Southerly by land of Benjamin Mixer

21 to a Red oak Tree there turning to a Maple Tree marked, and is Bounded Westerly

22 by land of Ephraim Woods to a Stake and Stones, then turning and Running to

23 the first mentioned heap of stones and is Bounded by land of Ephraim Woods

24 and Timothy Johnson. The other piece is Meadow Ground lying in Southborough

25 aforesaid, Containing two acres be the same more or less, and is Bounded

26 with a Maple at the Northeast Corner and is Bounded Easterly by a ditch

27 Twenty Rods to a Stake and Stones then bounded Southerly by land of Joseph Farr,

28 Sixteen Rods to a stake, then Bounded Westerly by land of Ezekiel Collins Twenty Rods to a

29 Stake and Stones, then Bounded Northwest by land of said Brewer Sixteen Rods

30 to the first mentioned Maple Tree. Together with what is standing, Lying or

31 growing the ???? with a Dwelling House on the first mentioned piece of Land.

32 To have and to hold the said granted and bargained Premises, with all the Appur-

33 tenances, Privileges and Commodities to the same bleonging, or in any wise appertaining to him

34 the said Peter Brewer his

35 Heirs and Assigns forever. To his and their only proper Use, Benefit and Behoof forever.

36 And I the said John Phillips

37 for himself, Heirs, Executors and Administrators, do covenant, Promise and Grant to and with

38 him the said Peter Brewer his

39 Heirs and Assigns, that before the Ensealing hereof, I am the true, sole and lawful Owner of the

40 above bargained Premises, and am lawfully seized and possessed of the same in my own proper

41 Right, as a good, perfect and absolute Estate of Inheritance in Fee Simple : And have in myself

42 good right, full Power and lawful Authority, to grant, bargain, sell, convey, and confirm said bargained

43 Premises in Manner as aforesaid : And that him the said Peter Brewer his

44 Heirs and Assigns, shall and may from Time to Time, and at all Times forever hereafter, by Force and

45 Virtue of these Presents, lawfully, peaceably and quietly Have, Hold, Use, Occupy, Possess and Enjoy

46 the said demised and bargained Premises, with the Appurtenances, free and clear, and freely and clearly

47 acquitted, exonerated and discharged of, from all and all Manner of former or other Gifts, Grants,

48 Bargains, Sales, Leases, Mortgages, Wills, Entails, Jointures, Dowries, Judgments, Executions, or Incum-

49 brances of what Name or Nature foever, that might in any Measure or Degree obstruct or make Void

50 this present Deed.

51 Furthermore, I the said John Phillips for myself my Heirs,

52 Executors and Administrators, do Covenant and Engage the above-demised Premises to him the said

53 Peter Brewer his Heirs and Assigns

54 against the lawful Claims or Demands of any Person or Persons whatsoever, forever hereafter to

55 Warrant, Secure and Defend by these Presents. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand

56 and seal this Twenty fifth day of September Annoque Domini one Thousand

57 Seven Hundred and fifty two and in the Twenty sixth year of his majesty's Reign

58 George the Second of Great Brittain King &c

59 Signed Sealed and Deliv^d } John Phillips {seal}

60 in presence of us               } Worcester SS March the 30^th 1754

61 Ezra Taylor                      } The within named John Phillips acknowledged the within

62 Mark Collins                    } written instrument to be his act and deed

63 Before me Saml Lyscom Justice of peace

64 Received Oct. 29^th 1765 & accordingly Entered & Examined {signed} Timo. Paine Reg.

The source citation for this deed record is:

"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 17 July 2013) , Worcester County, "Deeds 1765-66, Vol. 53-54," image 242 of 682, in Volume 53, Page 433, John Phillips to Peter Brewer, deed for two parcels of land in Southborough, Mass., 1754.

This is a fairly straightforward land transaction between the parties for two pieces of land in Southborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts.  The metes and bounds are generally stakes, stones and trees with the neighbors named at the time of the writing.

Unfortunately, i have not found a deed where John Phillips bought this land.  I think that it is part of the land owned by his father, Ebenezer Phillips, and bequeathed to John by Ebenezer in his will dated 20 November 1745  and proved 21 August 1746 (see Amanuensis Monday - Ebenezer Phillips (1695-1746) Will, posted 22 November 2010).

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/11/amanuensis-monday-post-193-john.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 27 October to 2 November 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 daily blog prompts or 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:

*  FTM2014 and Multiple Computers (TreeSyncTM Feature) by Russ Worthington on the Family Tree Maker User blog.  Russ responds to a question about how to share a family tree file on different computers using an Ancestry Member Tree.

*  Advanced Research Tip: Five Things You Should Know About Every Record  by Anne Mitchell on the Ancestry.com Blog.  Excellent advice from Ancestry Anne.

*  Problems With 1921 Census Indexing & How to Work Around Them by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog.  Lorine describes her 1921 Canada search effort and recommends ways to work around misindexed names.  These are excellent tips for any record set on any website.

*  Mysterious WWII Ring -- Followup by Jenny Lanctot on the Are My Roots Showing blog.  Jenny is finding out many things about her grandfather's World War II service.

*  Census Hurdles -- Search Tips and Tricks by Cari Taplin on the Genealogy Pants blog.  Cari has a series of census hurdles - this post highlights many issues and their solution.

*  Bring Out Your Dead: A Look at Mortality Schedules by Thomas MacEntee on the Archives.com Expert Series.  Thomas looks at a little-known useful genealogy resource.

*  Benchmarks Update for October by John D. Reid on Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog.  John keeps track of genealogy website statistics and Alexa rankings month-by-month.

*  "You Left the Bodies, and You Only Moved the Headstones" by Jennifer Alford on The In-Depth Genealogist blog.  Jennifer describes the ideal cemetery moving process...and the actual practices.

*  Tongue in Cheek Genealogy -- They Cite Horses, Don't They? by Kenneth R. Marks on The Ancestor Hunt blog.  Ken tells Charlie's story - good one (I can relate!).

*  SportsCenter Saturday--My Dad's 1936 NFL Contract by Del Ritchhart on the Del's Genealogy Ramblings blog.  Del has a fascinating piece of ephemera here!

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

*  NN Things You Need to Know This Morning, Sunday, 27 Oct 2013, Monday, 28 Oct 2013, Tuesday, 29 Oct 2013, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2013, Thursday, 31 Oct 2013, Friday, 1 Nov  2013, and Saturday, 2 Nov 2013 by Caroline M. Pointer on the 4YourFamilyStory.com blog.

*  Follow Friday - Favorites for November 1, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves For Trees blog.

*  Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for November 1, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and family History blog.

*  Friday Finds - 11/01/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on Julie's Genealogy & History Hub blog.

*  Genealogy Blogs, News & Tidbits, #14 by Deb Ruth on the Adventures in Genealogy blog.

*  Saturday Serendipity (November 2, 2013) by John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism blog.

Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another 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 1400 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, 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/2013/11/best-of-genea-blogs-27-october-to-2.html

Copyright(c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver