Genea-Musings

Friday, August 25, 2017

Genealogy News Bytes - 25 August 2017

Some of the genealogy news items across my desktop the last three days include:

1) News Bytes:

* New And Improved “Chicago Ancestors” Website From The Newberry Library

* Introducing the DNA Match Review Page

2) Record Databases:

* New Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday, 25 August 2017

* US Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards (on Fold3)

* August Update: GenealogyBank Just Added New Content for 88 Titles!

* World Archives Project: Australia Newspaper Vital Notices, 1851-1997 (Part 1)

* NEPGS Reaches Milestone in Catholic Records Project

* TheGenealogist Releases Half a Million Criminal Records adding Significantly to its Court & Criminal Collection

3) Genealogy Education:

* Upcoming Family Tree Webinar, Wednesday, 30 August, 11 a.m. PDT: "Getting Started With Evidentia," by Edward A. Thompson
* Upcoming ISGS Webinars - September 2017

* Upcoming FREE SCGS Webinar, September 2, 2017: "Caillte agus Aimsigh: Lost and Found - Irish History and Records," by Barbara M. Randall

* Archived Family Tree Webinar: "How to Do Mexican Research and Be Successful" by Jonathan Walker.

* Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast: "Special Episode: The End of FamilySearch Microfilm Lending Program"

* The In-Depth Genealogist YouTube Channel: "Chit Chat Live: An Interview with Phyllis Codling McLaughlin"

* The In-Depth Genealogist YouTube Channel: "Chit Chat Live: August Panel Discussion"

* The NextGen Genealogy Network YouTube Channel: "Faces of NextGen Live - Michael D Lacopo (take 2)"

* DearMYRTLE YouTube Channel: "The Archive Lady - Aug 2017"

* Nivka Sewell-Smith's YouTube Channel: "BlackProGen LIVE! Ep 41: People of Color in the Midwest: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri"

* BYU Family History Library YouTube Channel: "Handling the changes made to the FamilySearch Family Tree? - James Tanner"

* BYU Family History Library YouTube Channel: "What Makes Vital Records So Vital - James Tanner"

* American Ancestors YouTube Channel: "Finding Your Ancestor in American Fraternal Organization Records"

* Family History Fanatics YouTube Channel: "Preserving Historical Heritage with Kindex - BYU Conference Interview"

4) Genealogy Bargains:

* Genealogy Bargains for Saturday August 25, 2017

* 4 days of free access to all Ancestry UK's Irish & UK records

5) Neat Stuff:

* What Did People Eat In The 1800s?

* 11 Of The Coolest Hidden Google Tips And Tricks

Did you miss the last Genealogy News Bytes - 22 August 2017?

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/genealogy-news-bytes-25-august-2017.html

Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver

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

New Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday, 25 August 2017

I received this information from Findmypast today:

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New Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday

There are over 3.3 million new records and newspaper articles available to search this Findmypast Friday, including;

Canada Census 1851

The Canada Census of 1851 is now available to search on Findmypast. Following the Act of Union in 1841, the Province of Canada was formed. It consisted of Canada West (Ontario) and Canada East (Quebec). The 1851 census also collected population details for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. From this census, information was gathered on 2,312,919 individuals, broken down by place. Each result will provide you with a transcript and image of the original census form. Transcripts will typically list your ancestor's birth year, place of birth, religion and relationship to the head of the household.

Middlesex Protestation Returns 1641-42

Did your Middlesex ancestor sign an oath to 'live and die for the true Protestant religion, the liberties and rights of subjects and the privilege of Parliaments'? Search over 16,000 records to find out. The Protestant oath of allegiance was a result of concern that the Protestant reformation was failing. The Long Parliament created such pledges between May 1641 and September 1643 as a measure intended to identify Catholics. Those who refused to sign the pledge were considered to be unfit for holding office.

London, Bunhill Fields Non-Conformist Burials 1713-1826 Browse

Browse through over 5,000 records from London's Bunhill Fields burial ground in Islington to locate the final resting place of your non-conformist ancestor. This collection of burial registers and monumental inscriptions will allow you to discover your ancestor's age at death, when they died and the date of their burial. Bunhill Fields was founded in the 1660s for non-conformists, radicals, and dissenters and over 120,000 were interred there before the cemetery's closure in 1853.

National Burial Index for England & Wales

Over 173,000 additional records have been added to the National Burial Index for England & Wales. The new additions cover 190 burial grounds, cemeteries and churchyards across Wiltshire and span the years 1530 to 1839. Each record includes a transcript that will reveal your ancestors birth year, death year, burial date, burial place, place of worship & denomination. The index now contains over 12 million transcripts derived from original parish registers, bishop's transcripts, earlier transcripts and printed registers by local family history society volunteers.

Wiltshire parish baptisms index 1538-1917

Over 98 additional records covering more than 150 parishes in and around Bristol have been added to the Wiltshire parish baptisms index. Transcriptions were created by both Findmypast and Wiltshire Family History Society. Each record contains a transcript created from either an original parish registers or bishop's transcript. The information varies, but most will include a combination of your ancestor's birth date, baptism date, parish and parents' names.

Scotland Registers & Records

Over 120 new PDF images have been added to Scotland Registers & Records, a collections of images taken from different publications related to Scottish parishes and families. The records included in this collection are incredibly varied, ranging from parish records, topographical accounts and memorial inscriptions to a 19th century novel and a short history of the Black Watch. The new images have been added to "Banffshire: The People and the Lands".

Irish Newspaper Update

Over 105,000 new articles have been added to our collection of historic Irish newspapers this month. This latest update also marks the addition of one brand new title, the Leitrim Advertiser. There are currently 1,409 issues of the Advertiser available to search covering the years 1886, 1890 to 1899 and 1901 to 1916.

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to Findmypast, which I appreciate. However, this does not affect my objectivity in reporting on this website.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/new-records-available-to-search-this_25.html

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

52 Ancestors - Week 189: #268 Jeremiah Knowlton (1713-1752) of Ipswich and Concord, Massachusetts

Jeremiah Knowlton (1713-1752) is #268 on my Ahnentafel List, my 6th great-grandfather, who married #269 Sarah Allen in 1735 in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

* their son #134 Jeremiah Knowlton (1745-1785) who married Abigail Peirce (1750-1776) in 1771.

* their daughter #67 Abigail Knowlton (1774-1855) married #66 Nathan Gates (1767-1830) in 1790.

* their daughter #33 Abigail Gates (1797-1867) who married #32 Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) in 1817.

* their son #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) who married #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884) in 1851.

* their son #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) in 1874.

* their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.

* their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.

* their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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

* Name: Jeremiah Knowlton[3-6]

* Alternate Name: Jeremiah Knoulton [1-2]

* Sex: Male

* Father: Nathaniel Knowlton (1683-1760)

* Mother: Mary Bennett (1685-1717)

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

* Birth: before 2 August 1713, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States[1-2]

* Baptism: 2 August 1713 (after age 0), Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States[1-2]

* Deed: 5 March 1741 (after age 27), bought land in Concord from Benjamin Fletcher for £20; Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[4]

* Deed: 26 January 1743 (after age 29), sold land in Concord to Aaron Brown for £2 10s; Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[5]

* Deed: 26 April 1745 (after age 31), sold land in Concord to Francis Winship for £110; Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[6]

* Death: about 1752 (after about age 39), Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

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

* Spouse 1 Sarah Allen (1717-1796)

* Marriage 1: 24 July 1735 (after age 21), Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[3]

* Child 1: John Knowlton (1736- )

* Child 2: Abigail Knowlton (1739- )

* Child 3: Nathaniel Knowlton (1741- )

* Child 4: Benjamin Knowlton (1743- )

* Child 5: Jeremiah Knowlton (1745-1785)

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

Jeremiah Knowlton was born before 2 August 1713 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the fifth and last child of Nathaniel and Mary (Bennett) Knowlton. He was baptized in the Ipswich church on 2 August 1713[1-2].

Jeremiah Knowlton of Concord married 24 July 1735 in Sudbury to Sarah Allen, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Grande) Allen of Sudbury[3]. They had five children between 1736 and 1745, all recorded in Concord, Massachusetts.

On 5 March 1741, Benjamin Fletcher, husbandman of Concord, sold a piece of land in the eastern part of Concord to Jeremiah Knowlton, tailor of Concord, for 20 pounds in bills of credit[4]. The parcel was about 25 square rods, bounded by a highway, land of Eleazar Flagg and Benjamin Fletcher's own land. The deed was recorded 22 May 1745.

On 26 January 1743/4, Jeremiah Knowlton, tailor of Concord, sold a small piece of land in Concord to Aaron Brown for two pounds 10 shillings[5]. The land was in the easterly part of Concord with a dwelling house, bounded by the highway, land of Eleazer Flagg, land of Benjamin Fletcher, and his own land. The deed was recorded 31 October 1744.

On 26 April 1745, Jeremiah Knowlton, tailor of Concord, sold two parcels of land in the eastern part of Concord to Francis Winship, glazier of Concord, for 110 pounds in old tenour bills[6]. The first parcel with a dwelling house was bounded by the highway, Benjamin Fletcher's land and land sold to Aaron Brown The second parcel was bounded by the highway, land of Benjamin Fletcher, and land of the heirs of Eleazer Flagg. The deed was recorded on 22 May 1745.

Jeremiah died in about 1752 in Concord. There are no death or burial records for him.

Jeremiah Knowlton did not have a probate record in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

After his death, his widow Sarah Knowlton sold rights to a well on the remaining property in late 1752, and a parcel of land in the same area of Concord in 1762.

5) SOURCES

1. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Ipswich > Church Records, Earmarks, with Births, Marriages, Deaths, page 90 (image 293 of 326), Jerem^h Knoulton baptism entry, 2 August 1713.

2. Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, Mass. : The Essex Institute,1910-1919), Births, page 225, Jerem[ia]h Knoulton entry.

3. Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903), Marriages, page 229, Jeremiah Knowlton and Sarah Allen entry.

4. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Middlesex County, Volume 45, page 164, Benjamin Fletcher to Jeremiah Knowlton, recorded 22 May 1745.

5. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, Middlesex County, Volume 44, page 362, Jeremiah Knowlton to Aaron Brown, recorded 31 October 1744.

6. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, Middlesex County, Volume 45, page 165, Jeremiah Knowlton to Francis Winship, recorded 22 May 1745.

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NOTE: Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog. I have extended this theme in 2017 to 208 Ancestors in 208 Weeks.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/52-ancestors-week-189-268-jeremiah.html

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Seavers in the News -- Allan W. Seaver, Handwriting Expert, Dies in 1904

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a semi-regular feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the Los Angeles Herald newspaper dated 4 November 1904:

The transcription of this article is:

HANDWRITING EXPERT HAS PASSED AWAY

Allan Seaver of Worldwide Reputation Dies at Home

Allan W. Seaver, one of the leading handwriting experts of the United States and one of the best known men in Los Angeles, passed away early Wednesday morning at his home on West Twenty-third street.

Mr. Seaver has frequently, for the past thirty years, been engaged in important cases from California to Maine as an expert, and has been considered one of the first men in the country in his line. His services have been in demand and decisions in some of the most important cases have depended on his opinion.

In June 1902, he was summoned to Butte, Mont., and asked to give his testimony at the hearing of the Colbert will case, which was of widespread interest. The expert was called upon to go into every detail of the case, and it was upon his opinion that the verdict actually rested.

Another important trial in which he figured was the Griffith and Bird trial, in which Bird was tried for forgery.

He was called to New York to testify in the case of the state vs. Roland B. Molineaux, charged with the murder of Mrs. Adams by means of poisoned candy sent through the mails, but for some reason was unable to attend. Altogether he has been a leading witness in nearly 400 cases necessitating the services of an expert, and in every one he has been considered a man of unquestioned integrity.

Daniel T. Aimes, in his book on handwriting, speaks of Mr. Seaver as one of the best men in the work. Mr. Aimes said that he was an expert in every sense of the word and a man who could not be bought. The two men were close friends and much of their work was carried on together.

Allan W. Seaver was born in Salem, Mass., in May 1842, but moved to Connecticut at an early age. He graduated at Harvard and attended Yale for a short term. He came to Los Angeles sixteen years ago, and had been deputy county clerk for more than half the intervening time.

There has probably never been a man in this position who was more respected by his associates in the court house and by all others with whom he came into contact. He was appointed by Thomas Rowan just before the latter became mayor under the Democratic administration, and held his position by his own merits, through all the changes in party, under the successive clerks, Ward, Dunamore, Meridith and Newlin.

When Clerk Newlin went into office it was thought that Mr. Seaver might have to go out, and to guard against this a petition signed by more than 250 of the prominent persons in the city, and requesting that the deputy clerk be retained, was presented to Mr. Newlin and honored by him. The document was afterward given to Mr. Seaver as a token of appreciation and the high esteem in which he was held. The document is now in possession of the family.

He made and lost two fortunes in the course of his life, and both went through the failure of those with whom he was associated. The last was lost in Fort Wayne, shortly before the date of his coming to Los Angeles.

A large firm which was secured under his name failed, and his money went to pay the creditors. Through all his reverses he remained hopeful and cheerful.

The deceased was 68 years old and leaves a widow and married daughter. The funeral services will be held at the undertaking parlors of Orr & Hines, today at 2 o'clock.

The source citation for this record is:

"Handwriting Expert has Passed Away," obituary, Los Angeles [Calif.] Herald newspaper, 4 November 1903, page 5, column 4, Allan W. Seaver obituary; digital image, California Digital Newspaper Collection (https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ : accessed 24 August 2017).

What a great obituary! Surely, this Allan W. Seaver born in Massachusetts is in my RootsMagic database, right? Well, not exactly. I don't have a Seaver, Sever, Seavers, Seever, Seevers, or Sevier listing for this man in my database with over 5,000 Seaver persons.

So I added him to the database, and did some research in census records, and California vital records, and Find A Grave and easily found his birth and death dates, his wife's name and birth and death dates, his daughter's name and spouse and their birth and death dates, etc.

There are no birth records for a Seaver (any variation) in Salem, Massachusetts in the Salem Vital Records book. There are 1880 U.S. Census (in Indiana) and 1900 U.S. census records for Allan Seaver and his wife, but I found no census records before 1880. There is a California voter Registration record that gives his name as Allan Ward Seaver. I searched FamilySearch without finding any other records of interest. There are several Ancestry Member Trees with the above information, but he is not in the FamilySearch Family Tree. I looked for Ward Seaver entries without success.

So I've struck out once again on a Seaver person. I wonder who his parents were?

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/seavers-in-news-allan-w-seaver.html

1713 Baptism Record for Jeremiah Knoulton in Ipswich, Massachusetts - - Post 379 of Treasure Chest Thursday

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - a chance 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 1713 baptism record of Jeremiah Knoulton in Ipswich, Massachusetts:

The entry for Jeremiah Knoulton is the 4th entry on the left-hand page (titled "Baptisms, 1713"):

The transcription of this record is:

"Jerem^h son of Nathan^ll & Mary Knoulton Aug^t 2 1713"

The source citation for this record is:

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 August 2017), Ipswich > Church Records, Earmarks, with Births, Marriages, Deaths, page 90 (image 293 of 326), Jerem^h Knoulton baptism entry, 2 August 1713.

Jeremiah Knowlton was the 5th and final child of Nathaniel and Mary (Bennett) Knowlton born in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.

There are at least three transcriptions of the original town records in the "Massachusetts, Town and vital Records, 1620-1988" collection on Ancestry.com. The image above is probably the first transcription from the original records. So it is a Derivative Source, not an Original Source.

Jeremiah Knowlton (1713-1742) married Sarah Allen (1717-1796) in 1735 in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and had five children born in Concord, Massachusetts. They are my 6th great-grandparents through their son, Jeremiah Knowlton (1745-1785), who married Abigail Peirce (1750-1776) in 1771 in Waltham, and resided in Lincoln and Weston, Massachusetts.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/1713-baptism-record-for-jeremiah.html

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Baiting the Genealogy Hook

We just had four fun days with our eldest daughter and her two sons, Lucas (age 13) and Logan (age 11). The boys know that I do genealogy research, but they don't know anything about it.

In past years, I have supplied relationship charts for both of them and their relationship to Prince George of England and President Obama.

They have a relatively short Italian and Danish/German ancestry on their father's side of the family, and in my ancestry (Mayflower passengers, British royals, English, Germans, Dutch, and lots of farmers) and in my wife's ancestry (Maryland, England, Germany, and Norway).

While we were driving around this weekend, I asked them if they wanted to go on a narrated tour of the Seaver "mansions" and schools in San Diego - the response was "not really." I asked if they wanted to go out to Point Loma and have a gravestone hunt for my parents, their great-grandparents. Nope. Oh well. They wanted to go shopping at Seaport Village, go to the beach, watch the eclipse, eat dinner in Little Italy, and go to the Jump Around (trampolines) in Chula Vista.

Last night after 9 p.m., I was in the Genea-Cave pecking away on my keyboard adding information and source citations to my database from Ancestry Hints, and Logan came in and asked "what are you doing?" I think his real mission was to take some M&Ms from my stash, but I digress.

I told him that I was "feeding my family tree with information - it's what I do." He looked puzzled.

I also asked him "Do you want to see your Pedigree Chart?" He said "Sure" and so I used RootsMagic to show the Pedigree View with him in the #1 spot. It was colorful. I asked if he could find his great-grandmother (who was born in Italy, but is still alive) and he quickly did. I went back three more generations and showed him her great-grandparents (his 4th great-grandparents). He was curious about all of the names - especially the Italian names.

I told him that there were records for these people, and I've been trying to find them, and have had some success. I also told him that each of these people, and the people in his mother's family tree, have contributed to making him who he is. He looked pensive.

I also told him that I have not found a link back to Leonardo DaVinci or Galileo yet - that may be his task in the future.

The boys really want to go to Italy to sightsee and perhaps see their ancestral home villages. Their parents have been to one of them and met cousins.

Hopefully, this little discussion will "bait the genealogy hook" to encourage them to find their Italian cousins (I think there are many of them, and their great-grandmother has family contacts there).

That was fun. It was totally off the cuff. However, Logan never did dig into the M&M stash. Isn't genealogy software great? Can I really hook him and reel him into the genealogy world?

What other ways have you "baited the genealogy hook?" I need more hooks!

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/baiting-genealogy-hook.html

Checking Out My MyHeritage DNA Match Review

MyHeritage announced a new feature yesterday - the MyHeritage DNA Match Review.

Since I submitted my raw DNA file late last year to MyHeritage for analysis, I have been receiving DNA Matches. Unfortunately, until recently, almost all of the matches have either no MyHeritage tree or a small tree with only one to three generations.

My current MyHeritageDNA match count is 194, and I finally have several matches that have some common persons in their tree to persons in my tree, and are distant cousins.

Here are the screens for two of them, who are related (note that I have obscured living person names and web site names):

The first match is AW, who shares 1.1% of her autosomal DNA with me. However, she has only one person in her MyHeritage family tree.

Further down the screen, MyHeritageDNA provides Shared DNA Matches to both AW and myself:

There are a number of these Shared DNA Matches. The first one is AW's father, CR. I clicked on his name, and noted that he had a larger family tree of 161 persons. I share only 0.7% of my DNA with CR:

The screen above shows me Smart Matches - there are a number of persons in my MyHeritage tree that are the same persons in CR's MyHeritage tree.

I clicked on the link to "Review Match" for the first match on the screen above, and saw the information for that person in my tree and CR's tree:

CR has much more information for this family than I do because he is directly descended from the persons in his tree.

Further down the page is a comparison of my MyHeritage tree and CR's MyHeritage tree:

I looked carefully through the list of Smart Matches, and found that CR and AW are descended from Nora Delia Carringer (1871-1902). Nora is my 2nd cousin twice removed, and is in my MyHeritage tree. She is CR's great-grandmother. The common ancestors are my 4th great-grandparents, Martin and Magdalena (Hoax) Carringer, who are CR's fifth great-grandparents. So CR is my 5th cousin once removed, and AW is my 5th cousin twice removed.

Based on some of CR's family tree data, I added some of this line to my RootsMagic database, but not yet to my MyHeritage tree.

This MyHeritage DNA Match Review worked pretty well for me on this particular DNA match. I will continue to monitor my MyHeritageDNA matches for information about the families of my DNA cousins.

Please read the MyHeritage DNA Match Review blog post for more details on this new MyHeritageDNA feature.

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary data and tree subscription to MyHeritage, and \have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/checking-out-my-myheritage-dna-match.html

More San Diego Zoo Fun in May 2013 - Post 478 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

We had the two granddaughters (ages 5 and 8 at the time) in May 2013 for a weekend, and we visited the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. Here are some photos from our visit:

1) Lauren got her face painted in the new Down Under exhibit at the zoo: