Thursday, November 14, 2024

Randy's Cousins -- 4th Cousin 5x Removed Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), the 14th President of the United States

 This week's famous cousin is my 4th cousin 5x removed Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) the 14th President of the United States.  

Here is Franklin Pierce's Family Search Family Tree short biography:

When President Franklin Pierce was born on 23 November 1804, in Hillsborough, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States, his father, Governor Benjamin Pierce II, was 46 and his mother, Anna Kendrick, was 36. He married Jane Means Appleton on 19 November 1834, in Amherst, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons. In 1855, his occupation is listed as brigadier general of  9th infantry, us army. He died on 8 October 1869, in Concord, Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States, at the age of 64, and was buried in Old North Cemetery, Concord, Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States.

The Wikipedia profile for Franklin Pierce includes this information:

Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity, he alienated anti-slavery groups by signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Conflict between North and South continued after Pierce's presidency, and, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the Southern states seceded, resulting in the American Civil War.

Pierce was born in New Hampshire, the son of state governor Benjamin Pierce. He served in the House of Representatives from 1833 until his election to the Senate, where he served from 1837 until his resignation in 1842. His private law practice was a success, and he was appointed New Hampshire's U.S. Attorney in 1845. Pierce took part in the Mexican–American War as a brigadier general in the United States Army. Democrats saw him as a compromise candidate uniting Northern and Southern interests, and nominated him for president on the 49th ballot at the 1852 Democratic National Convention. He and running mate William R. King easily defeated the Whig Party ticket of Winfield Scott and William A. Graham in the 1852 presidential election.

Here is the Relative Finder chart showing my relationship to Franklin Pierce:


My most recent common ancestor with 4th cousin 5x removed Franklin Pierce are my 8th great-grandparents Thomas Pierce (1619-1683) and Elizabeth Cole (1619-1688).

Are you related to Franklin Pierce?  Check out his profile on the FamilySearch Family Tree and click the "View Relationship" link at the top of the page.  Note that you have to have your profile connected to the FamilySearch Family Tree in order for this to work.

This shows that you never know to whom you might be related!!!  I'm having lots of Genealogy Fun.  Click here to see all of my famous cousins.

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Copyright (c) 2024, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Treasure Chest Thursday - 1835 Burial Record for William Rich (1766-1835) in Trowbridge, Wiltshire

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

The treasure today is the 1835 burial record of William Rich in the Trowbridge, Wiltshire parish register:


The 1835 burial entry for William Rich is the 6th entry on the image:


The transcription of the information on this record is :

"No. 903  William Rich, Trowbridge, Nov'r. 25'th [1835], 67 yrs, Walter Marriott, Curate"

The source citation for this census record is:

Wiltshire England Marriages, Trowbridge, William Rich burial entry, 25 November 1835; imaged, "Wiltshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813=1922,"   Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/records?recordId=1187210 : accessed 23 October 2024), Trowbridge, St. James with St. Stephen  >  1830-1839 > page 113 (image 121 of 198); Original data in Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England.

This is an Original Source record (because it is a church parish record book with information recorded as it occurred) with Primary Information and Direct Evidence of the name and burial date of William Rich in the Trowbridge parish church.  

William Rich was born before 30 July 1766 when he was baptized in the Trowbridge, Wiltshire parish church, the son of Robert and Mary (Cook) Rich.  He died before 25 November 1835 when he was buried at the Trowbridge parish church at age 69 (although the burial record says age 67).  William married Elizabeth "Betty" Noad (1767-1814) on 27 January 1788 in the Trowbridge, Wiltshire St. James church.
 
William and Elizabeth (Noad) Rich are my 4th great-grandparents.  They had at least 6 children, including my 3rd great-grandfather John Rich (1790-1868) who married Rebecca Hill (1790-1862) in 1815 in Hilperton, Wiltshire. 
   
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Disclosure:  I have a paid All-Access subscription to Ancestry.com now.  Ancestry.com has provided a complimentary subscription and material considerations for travel expenses to meetings, and has hosted events and meals that I have attended in Salt Lake City, in past years.


Copyright (c) 2024, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  All comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately after posting.

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Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 7 to 13 November 2024

  Welcome to Genealogy Education Bytes, posted on Wednesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history education items that came across our desktop since the last issue.


1) Upcoming Conferences and  Institutes 

* Conference Keeper Calendar

*  RootsTech 2025 (Free/$$) - 6-8 March 2025 - Virtual (Free) and In-Person ($$) (Salt Lake City, Utah)

*  Australasian Conference 2025 - Connections: Past, Present, Future ($$) - 21-24 March 2024 - In-Preson (Brisbane, Australia)

*   OGS 2025 Conference "Light Up Your Genealogy" ($$) - 30 April to 3 May 2025 - In-Person (Sandusky, Ohio)

*  NGS 2025 Family History Conference "Tales & Trails" ($$) - 23-25 May 2025 - Hybrid (Louisville, Ky.)

2 ) Upcoming Seminars, Webinars and Online Classes (times are US Pacific):

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for and/or view webinars and classes.

*  FamilySearch Library Classes and Webinars (Free)

*  GenWebinars ($$)

*  THE Family History Show ($$) - 8 Februry 2025 - Online

*  Family Tree Webinars (Free for a week) - Wednesday, 13 November, 5 p.m.:  “Her Sixth Matrimonial Venture:” A Case Study on Tracing a Woman’s Multiple Marriages by Sharon Hoyt.

*  Family Tree Webinars (Free for a week) - Friday, 15 November, 11 a.m.:  Laws of the Indies: Spanish Colonial laws and the records they produced by Judy G. Russell.

*  Family Tree Webinars (Free for a week) - Tuesday, 19 November, 11 a.m.:  Dear Me: Writing Research Reports to Yourself by Yvette Hoitink.

*  Family Tree Webinars (Free for a week) - Wednesday, 20 November, 11 a.m.:  Top Ten AI Genealogy Breakthroughs of 2024 by Steve Little.

*  Family Tree Webinars (requires membership) - Friday, 22 November, 11 a.m.:   Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management & Analysis by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

3) Recent Podcasts:





*  Weekly Genealogy Toolkit:  Foreign Language Records

4) Recent YouTube Videos:

*  Aimee Cross - Genealogy Hints:  My Experience in the Mountain Fire of California





*  Dallas Genealogical Society:  Researching Baden-Württemberg Ancestors

*  Daniel Loftus Genealogy:  Using Bluesky for #Genealogy (and in general!)

*  DearMYRTLE's Archive:  Mondays with Myrt - 11 Nov 2024








*  Legacy Tree Genealogists:  AI For Beginner Genealogy Research



*  Write Your Family History With Devon Noel Lee:  Is It OK to Publish UNPROVEN Stories in Your Genealogy?

5) Did you miss the last post in this series - Genealogy Education Bytes -  31 October tp 6 November 2024?

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2024/11/genealogy-education-bytes-week-of-7-to.html

Copyright (c) 2024, 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 your comment on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at   randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

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Frederick Walton Seaver, Jr. (1911-1983) in 1940 -- (Not So) Wordless Wednesday #846

 I can't help it, I can't do a wordless post! This is one of my favorite and most priceless family  photograph collections: 


This photograph is of my father, Frederick Walton Seaver, Jr (1911-1983), probably taken in 1940 in Leominster, Massachusetts, perhaps at the time of his brother Edward's wedding on 10 August 1940 in Leominster.  

This photograph is a part of my family history.   I used the MyHeritage photo tools to enhance and colorize a black and white photograph.

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Copyright (c) 2024, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.    I moderate all comments and they may not appear immediately - please write only one comment.

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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 6 to 12 November 2024

Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    


1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:










2)  DNA-Related News Articles





4)  Genealogy Software/App News






5)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:








6)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - 30 October to 5 November 2024.

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Copyright (c) 2024, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Why Would a Person Not Have Their Birth Parents Surname In the 1850 To 1920 Time Frame?"

There is always the possibility that one or more of your ancestors did not have the same surname as their birth parents.  I have several ancestors for whom I cannot identify birth parents.  The reasons for this are many - due to adoption, family circumstances, orphans, out-of-wedlock births, an intentional name change, criminal activity, or other reasons are distinct possibilities.  

For example, my 2nd great-grandfather, Devier J. Lamphier (1839-1894) was, apparently, adopted as a small child by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith in Jefferson County, New York, and petitioned the Wisconsin Senate to change his name to Devier J. Smith in 1866.  I got lucky with a Google search on that.  I am pretty sure that Devier's birth mother was a Lamphier (or variant surname) but have no clue about his birth father's name.

                                                   (image created by ChatGPT4 AI)

I wondered what the Artificial Intelligence chatbots would say in response to my question about this issue that may affect almost every genealogy researcher (who may not think about this situation).

1)  My first prompt to ChatGPT4 was:  "You are an experienced genealogist. Why would a person not have their birth parents surname in the 1850 to 1920 time frame? How could a researcher find the names of the biological parents?"

ChatGPT4 easily informed me of reasons for a surname change, and provided strategies for finding biological parents.  The initial response was:

 There are several reasons why someone born between 1850 and 1920 might not carry their birth parents' surname. These cases often involved adoption, family circumstances, or social conventions of the time. Here are some common reasons:

Reasons for Surname Changes

  1. Adoption or Informal Adoption: Children might be adopted by relatives, neighbors, or unrelated families, especially if their birth parents died young, were unable to care for them, or were impoverished. Formal adoptions weren’t standardized in the U.S. until the early 1900s, so many children informally adopted took on the surname of their new family.

  2. Stepfamily Situations: When a widowed or divorced parent remarried, the child might take the surname of the stepfather. This could be for social acceptance or to align with siblings born in the new marriage.

  3. Orphanages and Foundling Homes: Orphaned or abandoned children raised in these institutions were sometimes given new surnames, either for record-keeping purposes or because they were placed with foster families.

  4. Name Changes for Assimilation: Immigrants or their children sometimes changed their names to blend in or avoid discrimination. In some cases, entire families might adopt a new surname.

  5. Legal Name Change: Sometimes, a child or young adult would change their name legally to reflect a new family situation, such as being formally adopted by an adoptive parent, or for personal or professional reasons.

  6. Scandal or Family Secret: If a child was born out of wedlock, the family might give them a different surname, either the mother's surname or that of another family member, to avoid social stigma. In some cases, a different surname might be used to hide paternity.

Strategies for Finding Biological Parents

To uncover biological parentage, a genealogist can use various strategies depending on the case. Here are some useful steps and sources:

  1. Adoption Records: For adoptions after the 1900s, state courts sometimes kept records of adoptions, but access to these records varies by state. For earlier cases, look for informal mentions in wills, guardianship papers, or probate records, which may reference a child being “placed with” or “cared for” by another family.

  2. Guardianship Records: If a child was taken in by another family but not formally adopted, there may still be guardianship records, especially if the child inherited property. County probate records can sometimes list a child’s biological parents in cases where they were orphaned.

  3. Family Letters and Diaries: Private family records like letters or diaries sometimes mention guardianship, fostering, or adoption details, even when not formally recorded elsewhere.

  4. DNA Testing: For more recent research, DNA testing has proven invaluable in identifying biological families. Using autosomal DNA tests can reveal connections to biological parents or relatives. Matching with known relatives can help confirm suspicions about biological parentage, and tools on DNA websites can help analyze connections.

  5. Newspaper Articles: Newspapers might mention adoption, guardianship, or child placements, particularly if the parents’ deaths were reported or if there was a public guardianship hearing. Articles about charitable organizations or orphanages sometimes list the names of children they placed.

  6. Census Records: Census records can give clues, especially if a child appears with one family in an early census and then in another in subsequent censuses. Pay close attention to relationships, neighbors, or nearby families who might have taken in the child.

  7. Church Records: Baptismal, confirmation, or other church records can sometimes list biological parents even if a child was raised by someone else. Churches sometimes recorded “base-born” children with the mother’s name, or with both parents' names if known.

  8. Probate and Land Records: If a biological parent died, probate records often list children and may mention who cared for them. In some cases, land records mention children and may provide evidence of guardianship or inheritance through extended family.

Finding biological parents requires examining many sources and sometimes piecing together indirect evidence. If the usual records aren’t available, building a case through neighbors, associated families, and DNA can help create a clearer picture of the child’s origins.

2)  My second question was:  "What about trying to hide criminal activity or to escape parent abuse? How often did people have a surname different from their birth father?"

The ChatGPT4 response was:

Yes, hiding criminal activity or escaping abusive family situations were also reasons people might change surnames between 1850 and 1920. These cases add to the complexity of tracing a person's origins because records might be altered, withheld, or misleadingly documented. Here's more on these situations, along with general trends in surname use:

Criminal Activity and Surname Changes

  • Escaping Criminal Records: Some individuals changed their names to avoid association with a criminal record, often taking on entirely new identities. This could involve using a maternal surname, the name of a distant relative, or adopting a common surname for anonymity.

  • Witness Protection: While formal witness protection as we know it didn’t exist, some local law enforcement or families would help relocate people, advising them to change names to ensure safety. This was particularly true in cases involving organized crime, violent disputes, or contentious land issues.

Escape from Family Abuse

  • Running from Abusive Families: Individuals who fled abusive homes often adopted new names to distance themselves. This might involve moving to a new town and taking on an alternate surname. Some took on the surname of friends, extended family, or an employer who offered them a place to stay.

  • Institutionalized Children: Some children escaping abusive situations were taken in by orphanages or charitable institutions, where their surname might change to that of the institution or guardian.

Frequency of Different Surnames from Birth Fathers

It wasn’t unusual for people, particularly children, to have a surname different from their birth father's. Here’s how often this happened in different contexts:

  1. Stepfamilies and Maternal Lineage: It was common for children of single mothers or remarried women to carry their mother’s maiden name or a stepfather’s name. If a mother remarried after a divorce or death, children from the previous marriage often adopted the stepfather’s surname, even if informally. This was a relatively common practice, particularly in rural communities where formal name changes weren’t rigorously enforced.

  2. Orphaned or Abandoned Children: Many children raised by extended family members or unrelated guardians used the surname of their caregivers. This practice was frequent in the 19th century, especially given the informal nature of early foster arrangements.

  3. Social and Cultural Pressure: In cases of children born out of wedlock, it was socially acceptable—and sometimes expected—for a child to use the mother’s surname or the surname of another family member. This practice was relatively frequent in communities where the stigma of illegitimacy was high.

  4. Immigrant Adjustments: Newly arrived immigrants sometimes changed family surnames for easier integration, which meant children and parents could end up with different last names as families settled on a common surname. This was particularly true for multi-generational households where older family members kept traditional names while younger generations adopted English versions.

Research Challenges with Different Surnames

When tracing ancestors who had different surnames than their biological fathers, here are additional tips:

  • Look for Patterns: If a family used multiple surnames, try to find patterns in census, marriage, and death records to identify the possible reason for the changes.

  • Interview Descendants: Family lore might provide clues about name changes, especially if someone changed their name due to a family conflict or need to escape.

  • Local Records: County or city records like voter registries and tax lists sometimes show “aliases” or alternate names, especially in cases involving criminal charges.

Understanding that surname changes were often practical responses to complex situations can be key in genealogical research. For this period, surname variation was more common than we might assume today, making it essential to consider all possible surnames when tracing an ancestor’s life.

3) I asked the same questions of Perplexity AI, and received a similar response. Perplexity provided these sources as the basis for their responses:
4)  Once again, ChatGPT4 and Perplexity reduced my search process and my learning curve from days to minutes using my simple questions to provide basic answers.  While these responses are general and may not reflect the actual life experiences of all of my elusive mystery ancestors, they provide a clearer window for me to understand the issue and provide some recommended actions.  

5)  What other questions on this subject should I ask?  Please tell me in a comment to this post.

6)  Do you have elusive mystery ancestors who may have had a surname change?  Asking an artificial intelligence tool may quickly provide background, process and analysis answers that help you find those elusive ancestors. 

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See all of my Artificial Intelligence-related posts at https://www.geneamusings.com/p/artificial-intelligence-posts.html.

Copyright (c) 2024, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Seavers in the News -- 1980 Obituary of Mildred Seaver of Owego, New York

 Here is this week's edition of "Seavers in the News" - a weekly feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, mysterious, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from The Press and Sun-Bulletin [Binghamton, NY] newspaper dated Sunday, 17 August 1980, Page 46, Column 4:

The transcription of the article is:

"Mildred Seaver of Straits Corners

"Mildred Seaver, 71, of Star Route 1, Owego (Straits Corners) died Friday, August 15, 1980 at Wilson Memorial Hospital, Johnson City.  She is survived by her mother, Elizabeth Arnold, Binghamton; 5 daughters, Mrs. James (Harriet) Keene, Candor, Christine bogart, Utica, Mrs. Howard (Virginia) Miller, Tioga Center, Mrs. William (Dorothy) Eichhorn, Owego, Phyllis Clark, Owego; 2 sons, Donald Seaver, Owego, Carl Seaver, Portland, Oregon; several grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.  She was born September 9, 1908, Daughter of David & Elsie (Dillenbeck) Holland.  She was a retired employee of Endicott Johnson, a member of Straits Corners Baptist Church, the Ladies Aid Society of Straits Corners, Pomona Grange and the Rebekah's.

"Funeral services will be held today. at 2 p.m. at Richards Funeral Home, Owego, with Rev. Donald Miller, pastor of the Straits Cornerss Baptist Church and Otto Scott of Endicott officiating.  Burial will be in the Chapel Hill Cemetery, Straits Corners."

The source citation is:

"Mildred Seaver of Straits Corners." The Press and Sun-Bulletin [Binghamton, NY] newspaper, Sunday, 17 August 1980, page 46, column 4, Mildred Seaver obituary; imaged,  Newspapers.com   (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 November 2024).

This obituary provides a summary of the family of Mildred Seaver, with information about her, birth, age, place of death, parents, siblings, employment and associations, and services. 

Mildred L. Holland (1908-1980) was born 9 September 1908 in Binghamton, New York, the daughter of David and Elsie (Dillenbeck) Holland.  She married Milo G. Seaver (1904-1957) on 31 December 1925 in Binghamton, New York, the son of Jesse Bradley and Phoebe Edna (Brown) Seaver.  Mildred died 15 August 1980 in Owego, Tioga County, New York.  They had t chilendren:

*  Harriet A. Seaver (1926-????), married 1948 James A. Keene (1926-1997).
*  Christine E. Seaver (1928-2020), married 1946 Herbert William Bogert (1926-????).
*  Donald D. Seaver (1930-2015), married 1950 Evelyn Belle Burns (1931-2015).
*  Genevieve May Seaver (1931-1972), married William H. Farnham (1930-2014).
*  Virginia Seaver (1934-????), married 1954 Howard J. Miller (1932-2014).
*  Carl Jesse Seaver (1937-2002), married 1957 Roberta --?-- (1940-????).
*  Dorothy E. Seaver (1939-2022), married 1954 William O. Eichhorn (1933-1966).
*  Phyllis Seaver (1940-????), married George Francis Clark (1939-2008).
*  Mary Ann Seaver (1941-1942).
*  Sharon Seaver (1944-????).

I am not related to Mildred L. Holland, but I am a 6th cousin 2x removed to her husband Milo G. Seaver.  Our common Seaver ancestor is my 7th great-grandfather, Joseph Seaver (1672-1754).

There are over 10,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - and this is one of them.   Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes a person has a great obituary with complete family information.  I am glad that I can honor Mildred L. (Holland) Seaver today.  

You never know when a descendant or relative will find this blog post and learn something about their ancestors or relatives, or will provide more information about them to me.

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Disclosure:  I have a paid subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.


Copyright (c) 2024, 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,  or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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