Refreshing My Database Using the 52 Ancestors Weekly Theme

As astute Genea-Musings readers know, I've been posting biographies of my ancestors in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks posts every Friday morning.  I'm up to Week 73 (I started in January 2014) this week.  I chose to do this task in ahnentafel (ancestor list) order, starting with my 8 great-grandparents, then my 16 2nd greats, then the 32 3rd-greats, and I'm working on the 64 4th-great-grandparents at present.  I have some "missing" 4th greats, so the next biography will be for #88 in my ahnentafel (ancestor list), who is Humphrey White (1757-1814).

For many of these ancestors past my 2nd great-grandparents, I researched in libraries and on FHL microfilm, and relied on authored works and New England vital record books to provide information about these families in the 1988-1998 time period.  For Humphrey White, the major find was this work:

Ruth Wilder Sherman, "Some Descendants of Jonathan White of Dartmouth MA and of Humphrey White of Glocester RI," The American Genealogist, Volume 56, Number 2 (April 1981), pages 113-118, page 115, Humphrey White sketch.

Each week, I try to discipline myself to review my earlier research (if I can find the binder!), then do some online research to find records that will add content to my biography.  I search mainly in Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, AmericanAncestors.org, MyHeritage, and GenealogyBank, and ChroniclingAmerica for records pertaining to these persons.

When I find a record, I download it, rename it using my file naming scheme, and add it to my surname/family file folders.  I then create a Fact/Event in my RootsMagic family tree database, craft a source citation for the Fact/Event, transcribe or extract information from the record for a Fact/Event Note, and usually attach the record image to the person in my database and then tag it to the Fact/Event.

Here is my "Edit Person" screen for this week's biography for Humphrey White:

Before I started searching for records for Humphrey this week, I had only the birth, marriage, death, burial and probate Facts/Events for him.

By critically reviewing what I knew about Humphrey White, I realized that I did not have U.S. Census records for him (I found records for 1790, 1800 and 1810 on Ancestry), or land records (two records were listed in the Sherman article, so I found them in the FamilySearch database for Massachusetts Land Records).  I also know about a land record in Glocester, Rhode Island, so I need to find my notes about that deed and add an Event and source for it also.

In this review and refresh process, I found a Dartmouth, Massachusetts town record for Humphrey's marriage to "Sibbel Kerby" on Ancestry.com and a newspaper notice where his administrators are notifying creditors to submit their claims on GenealogyBank.  I'm still looking for more information about him.

The beauty of adding these Fact/Events, Sources, and Fact/Event Notes, and updating the Person Note, is that I can create the typical 52 Ancestors biography with an "Individual Summary" report.  I do need to edit it a bit, but the hard work of typing details is already done by my input to the RootsMagic program (and earlier programs) over the past 27 years.

By reviewing and refreshing my RootsMagic database, I have been adding significant content, source citations, and media to my database every week.  It may not be periodical or book quality, but it's better and more complete than what I had.  Perhaps it will help other researchers with the same ancestor find records that will help them in their family history.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/refreshing-my-database-using-52.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 263: 1798 Pennsylvania Direct Tax List for Rudolf Spangler in York, Penn.

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

The treasure today is the  1798 Direct Tax List of Pennsylvania for Rudolf Spangler in York, York County, Pennsylvania:

The columns headers and the Rudolf Spangler entry:

The data extracted from this record for Rudolf Spangler is:

*  Number of Return:  245

*  Name of the Occupant:  George King

*  Name of the Owner:  Spangler Rudolf

*  Dwelling House:  1

*  Out houses Appurtenant;  Dimensions or Area;  Materials of which built:  

    **  ----------------      32 by 26           Brick

    **  1 Stable              18 by 20           Wood

    **  1 Barn                16 by 18           Wood

    **  1 Kitchen           15 by 25           Brick

    **  ---------------       19 by 30           Wood

*    Number of Stories; Number of Windows; Number of Lights:

   ** [first house]         2;  13;  234

   ** [second house]    2;  10;  120 Unfinished

*  Quantity of land - Acres;  Perches;  Square Feet 

   **  [first house]        -- ;  -- ;  14,950

   **  [second house]   -- ;  -- ;    7,475

*  Valuations of the assistant Assessor:

   **  [first house]       1750

   **  [second house]    400

The source citation for this record is:

"Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798," , Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 May 2015), digital image, "York (Paradise to York Towships and Botts Town)," no page number (image 178 of 396, Return No. 245, Rudolf Spangler (owner) entry; citing United States Direct Tax of 1798: Tax Lists for the State of Pennsylvania. M372, microfilm, 24 rolls. Records of the Internal Revenue Service, 1791-2006, Record Group 58. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C..

I am confused by the Occupant and Owner columns.  This record apparently says that George King resided on a number of properties owned by several different persons, including a number of dwelling houses.  There are many pages with this same phenomenon - an occupant on several properties.

There were 22 indexed entries for Rudolf (or Rudolph) Spangler in this database, all in York County.  Some of them were Rudolph Spangler, Jr. and some were for Rudolph Spangler Sr.  I think my ancestor is Rudolph Spangler (1738-1811) is the senior Rudolph.  

I looked at all of the entries for the entries with or without a Senior indicator.  There were no entries where Rudolph Spangler was an Occupant - but there were several where he was an Owner.  

Rudolph Spangler (1738-1811) is my 4th great-grandfather, who married Maria Dorothea Dinkel (1748-1835) in 1767, and resided in York, York County, Pennsylvania.  They had 11 children, including my 3rd great-grandfather, Daniel Spangler (1781-1851). 

If a reader has more insight into these records, I would appreciate learning about it.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/treasure-chest-thursday-post-263-1798.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

New Ancestry.com Database - Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940

One of the recently added databases on Ancestry.com is the "Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940," added 16 April 2015.  The database description is:

This collection contains baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial records from more than 2,000 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregations. The records range from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. The information contained in the records varies from congregation to congregation (and sometimes from minister to minister). In some ethnic congregations, you may run into records in German, Danish, or some other language. 

The ELCA was formed in 1988 with the merger of the American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and the Lutheran Church in America. Use the browse tool on the right to see which congregations are represented. 

Baptisms (sometimes listed as christenings) typically include the name of the child, birth date and place, parents’ names, baptism date, and sponsors’ names. In some cases the birth date is noted as well. In some registers of children baptized, you may find family groups being baptized together. An infant baptism can be a clue that that member had been in the congregation for all of his or her life, whereas later christenings could indicate the family had more recently joined the congregation. 

Marriage records include the marriage date, the couple’s names, residences, and the name of the officiant. Ages and remarks were sometimes recorded as well. 

Death records typically included the name of the deceased, date of death, date and place of the funeral, and officiating minister. 

Within the collection you may also find membership records, with some listing the names and dates of admission, communion records, and how they were received into the church (e.g., baptism, certificate/transfer from another church, or other, which could indicate a transfer from another denomination). You may also find death dates listed in the membership registers. There are also some registers of church officials that can include dates of service, day-to-day business of the church, and functions of the congregation.

Here is the database search page:

I tested this database using the Vaux surname, as shown above.  There were 54 matches - confirmations, marriages and baptisms:

I selected the marriage record for Ernest L. Vaux on the list above, and saw the record summary:

The indexed information for this record is terrific - it includes the parents of both parties.  Here is the record image:

 The Ernest L. Vaux and Helen A. Boer marriage entry is number 8 in 1936 for this church in Bloomer, Wisconsin.

This record added Helen's maiden name and the marriage date and place for my family tree database.

The Ancestry.com source citation for this record is:

Ancestry.com. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. ELCA, Birth, Marriage, Deaths. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Chicago, Illinois.

My source citation, crafted using the "Church Records (online database)" source template in RootsMagic:

"Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 May 2015), Wisconsin > Bloomer > St. John, Marriages, page 338 (image 159 of 194), Ernest L. Vaux and Helene A. Boer entry, 1936; citing original data in: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. ELCA, Birth, Marriage, Deaths. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Chicago, Illinois.

NOTE:  Although this database title says the records span 1875 to 1940, I found many records before 1875.  For instance, here is a page of Sjursen entries in Dane County, Wisconsin:

The earliest record is for 1844, and there are 16 listed between 1844 and 1860.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/new-ancestrycom-database-evangelical.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

SCGS Genealogy Jamboree is June 4-7, 2015 in Burbank

The 46th annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree is coming soon - in two weeks - at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Hotel (2500 Hollywood Way in Burbank, California).  

There are two separate events:

1)  Thursday, 4 June:  Genetic Genealogy: DNA Day Plus -- see  http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/DNAday.html

2)  Friday, 5 June to Sunday, 7 June:  Southern California Genealogy Jamboree -- see schedule at  http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/overview.html

In addition, there is a large exhibit hall (see http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/exhibitors.html), special events (see http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/special-events.html), and a lot of genealogy camaraderie at this event!

Advanced registration closes on 23 May 2015, so if you haven't registered, please do so now!

The speaker schedule has been set -- Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  However, the locations for these presentations are not yet finalized.

The mobile app has been released - see http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/mobile-app.html

The schedule for the live-streaming video from the DNA Plus Day is at  http://streaming.webcastandbeyond.com/scgs/dna/  Note that this is an additional cost ($99 for the day, or $20 per presentation).

The schedule for the live-streaming video from the Jamboree days has not been defined yet, but it will be FREE to watch online.

There is a lot more information at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree website (www.genealogyjamboree.com) and blog (http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/).

I am not attending the DNA Day, but I am registered for the Jamboree.  We will arrive on Thursday afternoon on Amtrak from San Diego to Burbank, and will return on Sunday evening.  I look forward to seeing our many genealogy friends, communing with geneabloggers in the Blogger Lounge, attending classes, and walking the Exhibit Hall.

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

The Seaver-Hildreth Gravestone in Leominster, Mass. -- Post 360 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

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

Here is one of the most precious (to me) images from my Seaver/Carringer family collection:

The photo above is of the "Seaver" side of the Hildreth-Seaver gravestone in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts.  Here is the "Hildreth" side of the stone:

Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) and Sophia (Newton) Hildreth (1834-1923) are my second-great-grandparents, and are buried with their son Clarence L. Hildreth (1874-1878) in this plot, and are on the "Hildreth" side of the gravestone.

Frank W. Seaver (1852-1922) and Hattie L. (Hildreth) Seaver (1857-1920) are my great-grandparents and are also buried in this plot, along with their son Howard E. Seaver (1893-1900), and are on the "Seaver" side of the gravestone.

These photographs were taken in July 2004 on the occasion of the burial of Edward Richmond Seaver (1913-2004) and his wife, Janet Arlene (Roukes) Seaver (1913-2002).  They were to be inurned in front of the "Seaver" side of the gravestone above, with an in-ground plaque.  Ed was my father's only brother, and was a World War II veteran.  There were four nieces and nephews of Ed and Janet in attendance, and there two children also.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/the-seaver-hildreth-gravestone-in.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

What Are Your Top Favorite FREE Genealogy Websites?

I've written before about my own favorite FREE genealogy websites, but I often wonder what other FREE genealogy websites that I'm missing out on.

I have a presentation scheduled in July on this subject, and I need to start working on it.  I'm aware that my knowledge is US-centric, but I weant both USA and non-USA websites.

Would you, my dear readers, help me out on this?

Crowdsourcing is wonderful, and I'm eager to hear from you.  There are no limits - they don't have to be just for the USA. They can be record databases, indexes, images, family trees, educational sites, etc.  Any number of them.  Just FREE to access and use.  What are your favorites?

I would appreciate knowing WHY you think a website is one of your top genealogy sites.

Please tell me in Comments (or in email - rjseaver@cox.net)  what your favorite FREE genealogy websites are.

Thank you!!

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/what-are-your-top-favorite-free.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

Mea Culpa - The Ranslow Smith House in Jefferson County, New York

I made a mistake in my blog post The Ranslow Smith House in Henderson, N.Y. -- Post 359 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday (posted 13 May 2015), and need to correct it.

After I wrote this post, reader Jean in Jefferson county emailed me and said "I don't think that is the Ranslow Smith house you showed."  Since I have misplaced my paper copy of the Watertown  Daily Times article about "Old Houses of the North Country," Jean sent me a scan of her copy.  Here is the picture of the Ranslow Smith house in the article (#516 in the series, published 7 June 1952):

A comparison of the photo above with my photograph (below) from my visit in 2004 shows that these are not the same building:

Oops!  I don't know how that happened, but it did.

Jean pointed out that the rooflines don't match, and the article says the house was made of limestone, and my photo clearly shows clapboards or similar.

Reader Jean spent several hours perusing the Tax and Assessment information on the Jefferson County website (see http://jefferson.sdgnys.com/), for which I am very grateful.  

She found what I think is the current house in Henderson town on Bishop Street.  Here is a photo of the current house per the property assessment (see the form here):

Comparing this photograph with the newspaper photograph, there is a similarity between the photos, although they were taken from different perspectives.  The right-hand portion of the house in the current photo has a somewhat different window configuration and we can't see the roofline, but we can see that the right side of the right-hand portion of the house is still relatively flat.  The left-hand portion of the house in the current photo has an entryway added, but the small area between the added entry and the right-hand portion of the house looks very similar with a narrow window and a larger window (which may have been a door in the newspaper photo.  

I'm not 100% sure that this is the same house as described in the newspaper article, but it is the closest I saw from the tax assessment photos and descriptions.  Jean found two other houses that were from the 1830-1850 time period.  They may be in the Old Houses newspaper article series, which is online at http://old-houses.nnyln.org/.  The list of articles is at http://old-houses.nnyln.org/old-houses-2.html.  Unfortunately, the link for #516 doesn't bring up the newspaper page PDF for me for some reason.  

now i'm glad that I didn't walk up to the door of the house that I thought was the Ranslow Smith house, because it is apparent to me that it wasn't.

My thanks to Jean for the discussion, the newspaper page, and the hard work of finding candidate houses in Henderson, Jefferson County, New York on Bishop Street.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/mea-culpa-ranslow-smith-house-in.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

Tuesday's Tip: Review Your Ancestry Member Trees Hints Every Day

This week's Tuesday's Tip is:  If you have an Ancestry Member Tree, review the Leaf Hints for your tree every day, and use them.

I have several Ancestry Member Trees, and almost every day Ancestry.com's always-running servers provide a number Hints from Ancestry.com databases while I live life to its fullest.  In other words, they work on my genealogy even when I don't work on my genealogy.

1)  The user can select the Ancestry Member Tree to see Hints for on the "Family Tree" tab:

On the screen above, I selected my "big" database, the "Randy Seaver's Genealogy - July 2014" tree.

2)  Further down the Ancestry.com home page, the section for the "active" family tree shows my most recent family tree activity, and tells me how many persons are in my tree, how many photos are in my tree, and provides a link to "View people with hints:"

3)  If I click on the "View people with hints" link, I can see links on the left for "All hints," "People with hints," "Records," "Photos," "Stories," and "Member Trees."  On the screen below, I clicked on the "All hints" link:

Ancestry lists the Hints added "Within the last day," then "Within the last 7 days, then "Within the last 30 days," then "Within the last 90 days," and then "Older than 90 days."

Here is the top of the "Within the last 7 days" list:

I had 11 Hints in the "Within the last day" category.  Two of them were "Photos" of wills of Carringer persons in my database.  Nine of the Hints were for Records for persons in my database from a number of databases ranging from straight indexes to original town records.

4)  I try to review these Hints every day, and since there are relatively few each day. I often add the useful ones to my RootsMagic family tree database immediately, creating an event, adding the source citation, and an event note, along with capturing the image to my computer files and adding the record images as a Media item in RootsMagic if desired.  I only capture record images for my direct ancestors.

I can then either Review and accept the Hint and attach the record to the person in my Ancestry Member Tree, or Reject the Hint if it doesn't provide useful information for me (e.g., I already have the information, or I have better information than the Hint provides).

Since I have more than one Family Tree on Ancestry.com, I get different Hints for those.  I usually look at the "Seaver-Leland Family Tree" database also because that is my tree with only Ancestral Families.

I love it when Ancestry.com helps me find records of my ancestral families!  This is fun!

5)  Unfortunately, I've heard that only the top 10% of the Ancestry.com databases are used to provide Hints, so there are still a lot more many more records to be found by searching for a specific person.  There are over 32,000 Ancestry databases, so that means there are over 3,000 databases providing Hints if the 10% number is correct.  More fun!!!

A benefit is that when the user clicks on a Record Hint, there may be "Suggested Records" from other databases (apparently obtained from records attached to the same person in other users trees).  These "Suggested Records" can then be reviewed to provide more useful records.

Another drawback is that the Hinting system may find more Hints for persons in my database tomorrow or next month or next year.  The Hint system seems to select a certain number of persons in a tree to provide the daily Hints.  If a new database becomes available, the Hint system eventually may find Hints for tree persons but it may take months for them to appear.

Even so, it is better than searching person by person.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/tuesdays-tip-review-your-ancestry.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

Free Genealogy Courses on Ancestry Academy

Ancestry Academy launched in mid-April, and I described their offerings in Ancestry Academy Launched Today (16 April 2015).

Ancestry Academy (www.ancestryacademy.com) offers 21 different courses as of today, with more planned in the coming months.  Some of the courses are free, but most are on a subscription plan.

The six FREE courses offered are all about Ancestry.com products - they discuss and demonstrate how to use the products Ancestry offers.  The six course currently offered for FREE include:

1)  DNA 101: An Insider's Scoop on AncestryDNA Testing (with Anna Swayne):

"What is DNA testing? What do I do with the results? Learn how new capabilities with DNA can leverage the vast resources on Ancestry.com to help you make amazing new discoveries about your family story. Beginner, intermediate, and expert genealogists will benefit from learning about the latest in DNA technology. "

2)  Getting the Most Out Of Family Tree Maker (with Duff Wilson):

"Turn your family history into a lasting legacy with Family Tree Maker. This course teaches the basics of how to get started with Family Tree Maker, and includes an introduction to every workspace in the program. It also includes a number of advanced topics, so whether you’re new to Family Tree Maker or you've been using it for many years, this course will be useful for you."

3)  Digging for Answers With Find A Grave (with Michael Lawless):

"Find A Grave is the world's largest website devoted to memorializing the loved ones who came before us and their graves. Come take a cemetery walk with Michael, learn how to further your family research and become an active contributor of Find A Grave."

4)  You Found What in the 1940 Census? (with Anne Gillespie Mitchell):

"In the 1940 census you expect to find your ancestors and their relationships to one another. But there is a wealth of other information on the image that will reveal to you what your ancestor’s life was like in 1940. Were they rich or poor and what did they do for a living? Where did they live and who were their neighbors? And there may be clues in there that reveal where they were before they came to America. Spend some time with us and learn what you might have missed on the 1940 census."

5)  Your Family History Online: Laying the Foundation (with Anne Gillespie Mitchell):

"Let us show you what you should be looking for and how to build a tree that you feel confident about. A slow and steady approach will help you find your ancestors and learn their stories along the way."

6)  Finding Your Military Veterans on Fold3 (with Krista Hegerhorst):

"Fold3 is a great resource to discover historic military documents and can be used to learn and share the story of the veterans in your family tree. In this course you will study the fundamentals and guidelines to successful searching and browsing on Fold3, as well as the value of different types of military documents and what information they can provide. We will delve into the different military records and talk about the fun facts you might find while researching the veterans in your family."

Each of these courses has a series of program segments on a specific aspect of each topic.  In this way, a user can start and stop the course as s/he desires.  The segments ca, of course, be run through in succession.

One realistic use of these free courses is as an hour-long (approximately) genealogical society program or workshop.  Granted, they are working with Ancestry-specific products, but many genealogists and family historians use Ancestry.com products every week.

I anticipate that Ancestry Academy will provide free courses on their other products - Archives.com, Newspapers.com, the Ancestry.com App and perhaps other topics like Searching, Using Hints, etc.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/05/free-genealogy-courses-on-ancestry.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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

Amanuensis Monday - Post 268: Will of George Martin (1618-1686) of Amesbury, Mass.

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent  TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

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

The subject today is the 1686 will of George Martin (1618-1686) of Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts:

The transcription of this will is:

In the name of God Amen

I George Martin of the town of Amsbury in the County
of Essex being through Gods goodness of prfect memory
& understanding, doe make this my last will & testa-
ment in mannr as followeth

Imprimis I Commend my Spirit to God whoe gave it, & and my body
to the dust decently to be buried (at the chardges of my Exe-
cutr, whome I shall hereafter name and appoynt) in hopes
of a joyfull resurrection at the last day unto life eternall

2dly I give & bequeath unto my natural Children viz: my
Sonns Richrd Martin, & John Martin, & my Daugh-
ters, Hanna Wathen: Hester Gimson, Jane Hadley
& Abigail Hadlock unto each & every of them five
shillings apiece to be payd in good & merchantable
pay within one twelvemonth next aftr my decease

3dly I give & bequeath unto my Grandchild John Had-
lock five pounds in good & merchantable pay in case
that the sd John live wth me or my wife or my son Will:
 untill thatt he come unto the full & compleat age of
twenty one years.

4thly I give & bequeath all the rest of my housing, lands
stock & estate both moveable & Immoveable unto
my wife Susanna during her Widowhood, & after
her marriage, or decease (in case she marry not
againe) unto my youngest son William.

Finally: I Doe appoint, Constitute & ordaine my
Wife Susanna, to be Executrix and my youngest
son Will: Martin to be executr in conjunction
wth her unto this my last Will & testament.
And in confirmation of the promisees I have hereun-
to subscribed my hand & seale Dated the nine-
teenth day of January An: Dom: one thousand Six
hundred eighty & three or foure.

Subscribed, Sealed & delivered                              his
to be his Last Will & testamt                         George X Martin
in the presence of us                                                mark
Thomas Wells                  Mr. Thomas Wells and Mrs. Mary Wells
Mary Wells                      appeared before the Worshipfull Jno Woodbridge &
                                        & Capt. Richard Dumer and upon oath did testifie
                                       that they did see George Martin Signe & Seall and
                                       declare this to be his last will & testament.
                                        this 23rd Novr 1686                    as attest D. Denison  CC:

The source citation for this record is:

Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, Estate Case 17890, image 4 of 5, will of George Martin, 1686; digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society,American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org: accessed 17 May 2015).

George Martin married twice, first to Hannah LNU (1624-1646), who bore one daughter, Hannah Martin (1643-1730), who married Ezekiel Worthen in 1661.  After his first wife died, George Martin married Susanna North (1621-1692) in 1646, who bore him nine children, 6 of whom were living in 1686.  Susanna (North) Martin was one of the convicted women named as a Salem witch and executed in nearby Salem.

The will names seven children - Richard, John, Hannah, Hester, Jane, Abigail, and William (the youngest son who was named executor.

I am descended from Hannah Martin (1643-1730) who married Ezekiel Worthen [Wathen].  This will provides direct evidence that Hannah (Martin) Worthen, the wife of Ezekiel Worthen, was the daughter of George Martin.  However, it does not name mother.  Because Hannah was born in 1643, and George Martin married Susanna North in 1646, the logical conclusion is that Hannah Martin was the daughter of George's first wife.

I have no explanation for the use of the term "my natural children" in this will.  Were there other children sired by George Martin out of wedlock?  I guess that's a loose end.  I wonder if any are named in the Essex County Court records?

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Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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