The Table of Contents for the Winter 2008 issue (Volume 9, Number 1) of New England Ancestors, the member's magazine published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, includes:
FEATURES
* New England Missionaries Abroad: The Allen and Wheeler Families in the Ottoman Empire by Jonathan Conant Page - page 21.
* Lucy Thurston, Missionary Wife by Betty Fallard-Leo - page 26
* Onward Christian Soldiers: Researching New England Missionary Ancestors by Rhonda R. McClure - page 29
* By Faith Alone by Bill Griffeth - page 32
* Zebina the Privateer: Pirate or Patriot? by Barbara Sears McRae - page 35
* "That Merciless Element": Introducing Perished in the Flames: Victims of Deadly Fires in New England Newspapers & Diaries 1675-1830 by Christopher Benedetto - page 38
* An Irish Family Story by Thomas R. Wilcox, Jr. - page 41
COLUMNS
* Computer Genealogist: Google Books and Google Scholar by Michael J. Leclerc - page 43
* Computer Genealogist Spotlight: Immigration Source Online from Harvard University by Connie Reik - page 45
* Genetics & Genealogy: DNA Q&A by Curtis Rogers - page 46
* Manuscripts at NEHGS: Preserving a Family's Legacy: The Thaxter Parks Spencer Collection by Judith Lucey - page 49
* Diaries at NEHGS: The Diary of Martha Ann Kuhn by Robert Shaw - page 51
* Bible Records at NEHGS: The Jesse Ives Bible Record by Robert Shaw - page 55
* Tales From the Courthouse: Drinking with the Drummer by Diane Rapaport - page 57
There are some fascinating missionary tales in this issue, not to mention the Zebina the Privateer article.
I wish I lived in the Boston area. The list of programs at NEHGS is fantastic - more than one per week it seems. And maybe I would make more progress on my elusive New England ancestors!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
"Virginia Gazette" Index and Text online
On one of the message boards, someone provided a link to the Virginia Gazette. It is online at the Colonial Williamsburg web site. The description of this newspaper is:
"One of the Library's most important digital collections is the Virginia Gazette, published weekly in Williamsburg, 1736-1780; the news covered all Virginia and included some information for other colonies, Scotland, England etc. Not all the issues survived, and some have surfaced since they were first reproduced on microfilm in the mid-twentieth century that is the basis for the digital version.
"The earliest Virginia Gazette was printed successively by William Parks, William Hunter, Joseph Royle, Alexander Purdie, Purdie & John Dixon, Dixon & William Hunter Jr., and Dixon & Thomas Nicolson, from August 6(?), 1736, through April 8, 1780, when the paper was moved to Richmond. On May 16, 1766, William Rind established a competing paper under the same title which was printed successively by Rind, Clementina Rind (his widow), and John Pinkney, until February 3, 1778. A third Virginia Gazette was inaugurated by Alexander Purdie on February 3, 1775. After Purdie's death, the paper was printed by John Clarkson & Augustine Davis until December 9, 1780, the last issue located. "
There is a searchable index for topics and surnames to the Virginia Gazette online here. The individual pages can be saved as .JPG files.
The Colonial Williamsburg site also has a Genealogical Research web page here.
What a great resource for colonial Virginia research in the Williamsburg area.
"One of the Library's most important digital collections is the Virginia Gazette, published weekly in Williamsburg, 1736-1780; the news covered all Virginia and included some information for other colonies, Scotland, England etc. Not all the issues survived, and some have surfaced since they were first reproduced on microfilm in the mid-twentieth century that is the basis for the digital version.
"The earliest Virginia Gazette was printed successively by William Parks, William Hunter, Joseph Royle, Alexander Purdie, Purdie & John Dixon, Dixon & William Hunter Jr., and Dixon & Thomas Nicolson, from August 6(?), 1736, through April 8, 1780, when the paper was moved to Richmond. On May 16, 1766, William Rind established a competing paper under the same title which was printed successively by Rind, Clementina Rind (his widow), and John Pinkney, until February 3, 1778. A third Virginia Gazette was inaugurated by Alexander Purdie on February 3, 1775. After Purdie's death, the paper was printed by John Clarkson & Augustine Davis until December 9, 1780, the last issue located. "
There is a searchable index for topics and surnames to the Virginia Gazette online here. The individual pages can be saved as .JPG files.
The Colonial Williamsburg site also has a Genealogical Research web page here.
What a great resource for colonial Virginia research in the Williamsburg area.
Googling for Mölster data
Nope, I didn't misspell Molster (I did there - it should have the two dots over the o since it is Norwegian) - note that Google asked me "did you mean to search for: Molester family?" Because I posted a note on Genea-Musings back in April 2006 about the Mölster farm near Voss in Norway, I got an email the other day from a fellow in Ohio.
He wrote:
"Steve Shaffer here - an historian from Southern Ohio. I am writing you in regards to the Portsmouth (Ohio) Indian's Head Rock - a historic boulder recovered from the Ohio River late last summer, which is inscribed with many names of pioneer families from Portsmouth. One prominent name on the rock is "C. Molster." The rock is the center of a dispute between Ohio and Kentucky, recently featured on the front page of the New York Times. The city of Portsmouth wants to keep and display the rock, while some in Kentucky insist it is their property and should be returned to the river. This thinking I will not even try to explain. All of the Molsters are gone from Portsmouth, but I am trying to locate some of the ancestors, as they should have a voice in saving the rock from being returned to oblivion. I'm a historian, not a genealogist, so I thought you might be able to provide some advice in tracking these people down. Any pearls of wisdom you can drop will be most appreciated. We're fighting hard to keep this piece of local history out of the river. Thanks in advance."
The New York Times article is here. My correspondent, Steve Shaffer, is quoted quite a bit and there is video of him and the Rock.
I was going outta town the next day, but I invested about 30 minutes trying to find out something about "C. Molster." Here is what I found in my short search:
"What an interesting problem. Unfortunately, I'm leaving town early on Sunday and I can't pursue it in any depth. I was able to go on www.ancestry.com and find a few things. First, I found that there was a Cornelius Molster, age 19, in Portsmouth Ohio in the 1860 census. Then I used Cornelius and Molster to search books and newspapers and I found several items. I have attached three pages (they are graphics .png files):
1) Page 281 of a Scioto County, Ohio history book - the biography of Cornelius Molster is at the bottom of the page in the RH column.
2) Page 282 - the continuation of Cornelius' biography.
3) A newspaper page from the Portsmouth Times in 1894 that lists the pioneers of the town. Cornelius and Henry Molster are listed.
You should be able to find the book at a local library if you want more information about the pioneers other than Corny Molster. I didn't find any mention of the Rock, but I'm sure if I look further I would!
So tell me - how in the world did you pick me to do this exercise? Was it that I mentioned Molster in Norway in a blog post? Or on my genealogy web site? Inquiring minds want to know!!"
I'm not sure they were the requested "pearls of wisdom," but Steve wrote back the next day, saying:
"Sincere thanks for your interest and the information you passed along. I found that five of the surnames carved on the rock were listed as members of the Scioto Co. Pioneer Association. I'm going to contact the Scioto Co. Genealogical Society (just discovered their existence today) to see if I might get that group involved. How I found you - I was surfing and first found the Molsters in Norway blog, which led me to your site. You are welcome to do a posting and I recommend you use the New York Times Tues. Feb. 11th article as your source."
Steve kindly permitted me to use this correspondence as blog information.
Steve is a local historian, and because I took a little time to be curious and helpful he learned something about genealogy and historical resources both online and in repositories.
I learned something about some local history. You know, each community has stories like this one that stirs local, and even national, interest in years past and preservation of artifacts. Some of these stories, and organizations dedicated to preservation or history and artifacts, might make excellent programs at a local genealogical society meeting.
There is a good lesson here - if you blog about something concerning a surname or a place name there is a good chance that someone will contact you out of the blue on a peripheral issue due to a Google match.
So now I'm curious if Cornelius Molster was descended from Norwegian immigrants from the Mölster farm that sits just above Voss in western Norway. My post about our 1999 "Genealogy Vacation in Norway" describes the farm - it's nowe a "living history museum" and one of Linda's ancestral families emigrated from that farm in 1855. I wonder what else I can find out about Corny Molster?
UPDATED 6 PM: Thanks to John Newmark for providing a link to the HTML codes for letters with diacritical marks! Excellent. ö is now in the name of Mölster!
He wrote:
"Steve Shaffer here - an historian from Southern Ohio. I am writing you in regards to the Portsmouth (Ohio) Indian's Head Rock - a historic boulder recovered from the Ohio River late last summer, which is inscribed with many names of pioneer families from Portsmouth. One prominent name on the rock is "C. Molster." The rock is the center of a dispute between Ohio and Kentucky, recently featured on the front page of the New York Times. The city of Portsmouth wants to keep and display the rock, while some in Kentucky insist it is their property and should be returned to the river. This thinking I will not even try to explain. All of the Molsters are gone from Portsmouth, but I am trying to locate some of the ancestors, as they should have a voice in saving the rock from being returned to oblivion. I'm a historian, not a genealogist, so I thought you might be able to provide some advice in tracking these people down. Any pearls of wisdom you can drop will be most appreciated. We're fighting hard to keep this piece of local history out of the river. Thanks in advance."
The New York Times article is here. My correspondent, Steve Shaffer, is quoted quite a bit and there is video of him and the Rock.
I was going outta town the next day, but I invested about 30 minutes trying to find out something about "C. Molster." Here is what I found in my short search:
"What an interesting problem. Unfortunately, I'm leaving town early on Sunday and I can't pursue it in any depth. I was able to go on www.ancestry.com and find a few things. First, I found that there was a Cornelius Molster, age 19, in Portsmouth Ohio in the 1860 census. Then I used Cornelius and Molster to search books and newspapers and I found several items. I have attached three pages (they are graphics .png files):
1) Page 281 of a Scioto County, Ohio history book - the biography of Cornelius Molster is at the bottom of the page in the RH column.
2) Page 282 - the continuation of Cornelius' biography.
3) A newspaper page from the Portsmouth Times in 1894 that lists the pioneers of the town. Cornelius and Henry Molster are listed.
You should be able to find the book at a local library if you want more information about the pioneers other than Corny Molster. I didn't find any mention of the Rock, but I'm sure if I look further I would!
So tell me - how in the world did you pick me to do this exercise? Was it that I mentioned Molster in Norway in a blog post? Or on my genealogy web site? Inquiring minds want to know!!"
I'm not sure they were the requested "pearls of wisdom," but Steve wrote back the next day, saying:
"Sincere thanks for your interest and the information you passed along. I found that five of the surnames carved on the rock were listed as members of the Scioto Co. Pioneer Association. I'm going to contact the Scioto Co. Genealogical Society (just discovered their existence today) to see if I might get that group involved. How I found you - I was surfing and first found the Molsters in Norway blog, which led me to your site. You are welcome to do a posting and I recommend you use the New York Times Tues. Feb. 11th article as your source."
Steve kindly permitted me to use this correspondence as blog information.
Steve is a local historian, and because I took a little time to be curious and helpful he learned something about genealogy and historical resources both online and in repositories.
I learned something about some local history. You know, each community has stories like this one that stirs local, and even national, interest in years past and preservation of artifacts. Some of these stories, and organizations dedicated to preservation or history and artifacts, might make excellent programs at a local genealogical society meeting.
There is a good lesson here - if you blog about something concerning a surname or a place name there is a good chance that someone will contact you out of the blue on a peripheral issue due to a Google match.
So now I'm curious if Cornelius Molster was descended from Norwegian immigrants from the Mölster farm that sits just above Voss in western Norway. My post about our 1999 "Genealogy Vacation in Norway" describes the farm - it's nowe a "living history museum" and one of Linda's ancestral families emigrated from that farm in 1855. I wonder what else I can find out about Corny Molster?
UPDATED 6 PM: Thanks to John Newmark for providing a link to the HTML codes for letters with diacritical marks! Excellent. ö is now in the name of Mölster!
Timeline for African-American Lives 2
One of my CVGS colleagues passed the link for a Timeline for the persons whose ancestry was featured in the PBS program African-American Lives 2. The time line is at http://www.pbs.org:80/wnet/aalives/timeline/index.html
This timeline intersperses historical events with the events covered in the PBS series. I found it interesting and useful to see more details about the ancestry of those featured on the series. There are more links to
* The profiles of the featured persons at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/profiles/index.html. You can see what the researchers found out about each person's ancestry.
* Analyzing the evidence pages are at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/evidence/index.html.
* Short videos for the featured persons can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/videos/index.html
This timeline intersperses historical events with the events covered in the PBS series. I found it interesting and useful to see more details about the ancestry of those featured on the series. There are more links to
* The profiles of the featured persons at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/profiles/index.html. You can see what the researchers found out about each person's ancestry.
* Analyzing the evidence pages are at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/evidence/index.html.
* Short videos for the featured persons can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/videos/index.html
NGS NewsMagazine Table of Contents - Jan-Mar 2008 Issue
The Table of Contents of the January-March 2008 issue (Volume 34, Number 1) of the NGS NewsMagazine, published by the National Genealogical Society, includes the following:
COLUMNS
* Beginning Genealogy: Membership has its benefits: joining a genealogical society by Gary M. Smith and Diana Crisman Smith - page 50.
* Software Review: Ancestral Quest 12 by Barbara Schenck - page 56
* Technology: Virtual push pins by Drew Smith, MLS - page 59. This is about online message boards.
* Writing Family History: Doctoral dissertations - a neglected source by Harold E. Hinds, Jr., PhD - page 62
FEATURES
* On the horizon ... Kansas City by Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL - page 10
* The DaVinci code and your genealogy: multiple streams of evidence by Arlene H. Eakle, PhD - page 12
* Finding wives' and daughters' names by Wendy Bebout Elliott, PhD, FUGA - page 17
* Using family possessions to add interest to genealogical research by Charles S. Mason, Jr. - page 22
* The WPA era: a genealogist's bonanza by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG - page 26
* Newspapers, technology, and what they mean to a genealogist by Joan Shurtleff, CG
* Extracting details from Italian civil vital records by June C. DeLallo, CG - page 36
* Welcome home! Witajcie w domu! You are four steps from your Polish village by Cecile Wendt Jensen, CG - page 41
* Homestead records: Cancelled, contested, and relinquished entries by Roberta King - page 46.
There is something for everybody in this issue of the NGS NewsMagazine. I really appreciated the column on joining a genealogical society - lots of good ideas here! The Eakle, Elliott and King articles provide discussion of research techniques and resources. The Stuart-Warren and Shurtleff articles are historical, and interesting.
COLUMNS
* Beginning Genealogy: Membership has its benefits: joining a genealogical society by Gary M. Smith and Diana Crisman Smith - page 50.
* Software Review: Ancestral Quest 12 by Barbara Schenck - page 56
* Technology: Virtual push pins by Drew Smith, MLS - page 59. This is about online message boards.
* Writing Family History: Doctoral dissertations - a neglected source by Harold E. Hinds, Jr., PhD - page 62
FEATURES
* On the horizon ... Kansas City by Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL - page 10
* The DaVinci code and your genealogy: multiple streams of evidence by Arlene H. Eakle, PhD - page 12
* Finding wives' and daughters' names by Wendy Bebout Elliott, PhD, FUGA - page 17
* Using family possessions to add interest to genealogical research by Charles S. Mason, Jr. - page 22
* The WPA era: a genealogist's bonanza by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG - page 26
* Newspapers, technology, and what they mean to a genealogist by Joan Shurtleff, CG
* Extracting details from Italian civil vital records by June C. DeLallo, CG - page 36
* Welcome home! Witajcie w domu! You are four steps from your Polish village by Cecile Wendt Jensen, CG - page 41
* Homestead records: Cancelled, contested, and relinquished entries by Roberta King - page 46.
There is something for everybody in this issue of the NGS NewsMagazine. I really appreciated the column on joining a genealogical society - lots of good ideas here! The Eakle, Elliott and King articles provide discussion of research techniques and resources. The Stuart-Warren and Shurtleff articles are historical, and interesting.
Monday, February 25, 2008
"Researching Slaves in the Family" at CVGS on 27 February
Hey San Diego area readers -
The next General Meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society will be on Wednesday, 27 February at 12 noon in the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library auditorium (365 F Street, Chula Vista). There will be a short business meeting, with the 2007 Annual Report presented and discussed.
As many of you know, this is Black History Month, and CVGS has arranged for our program speaker to be Margaret Lewis - her topic will be "Researching Slaves in the Family." The synopsis of the talk is:
"Due to the lack of written records, African-American families relied on oral tradition when researching the slaves in their family. While oral history cannot take the place of documented sources, it can provide invaluable clues to family histories, names, relationships, and locations. Slaves were prohibited from participating in any activities that generated records on which genealogical research is based.
"Therefore, oral history can be a curial start to your research. While some ancestral lines can be traced back several generations with relatively little effort, researching slaves in the family can only be discovered after painstaking research. The objective of this presentation is to share slave records, and documented sources to use in your research. I would also like to stress the importance of researching the slave-owners and their families. The information you obtain in researching the slave-owners can help provide invaluable information that will assist in helping research the slaves in your family"
Margaret's CV includes:
"Margaret Lewis is the President, and a founding member of the San Diego African American Genealogy Research Group in San Diego, California. She started her “Ancestral Pursuit” in July of 1995 and her research quickly turned into an exciting journey that has taken her through an historical timeline of some of the most significant events in American History. What’s more important is that her ancestors participated in these events.
"Marti’s love for genealogy is expressed through her many published articles: “A Soldier’s Story”, “My Family Link”, “Time Will Tell” which was revised August 2005, to “He Touched Me”, and “Ancestral Roll Call” a poem summarizing her family heritage. She is also organizing her research materials to publish in a Family History Book to be titled, “Ancestral Pursuit.”
"Marti is currently working with the Daughters of the Union “Nancy Hanks Lincoln Tent #5” Editorial Committee to publish a Heritage Book which will feature their Civil War ancestors’ war stories. She has submitted a revised version, of “A Soldier’s Story” and has added a personal narrative which provides a vivid “on the scene” memoir of her great great grandfather’s life story from 1840 -1922.
"Marti is a compelling and influential voice in the genealogy community and she advocates for the study of Family History. She is known for her boundless enthusiasm, and has provided genealogical presentations, workshops and displays at many San Diego City Schools and conferences throughout the State of California, Nevada and Arizona."
This should be an excellent program. If you can attend this meeting, I'm sure that you will learn a lot about African-American research problems and successes.
The next General Meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society will be on Wednesday, 27 February at 12 noon in the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library auditorium (365 F Street, Chula Vista). There will be a short business meeting, with the 2007 Annual Report presented and discussed.
As many of you know, this is Black History Month, and CVGS has arranged for our program speaker to be Margaret Lewis - her topic will be "Researching Slaves in the Family." The synopsis of the talk is:
"Due to the lack of written records, African-American families relied on oral tradition when researching the slaves in their family. While oral history cannot take the place of documented sources, it can provide invaluable clues to family histories, names, relationships, and locations. Slaves were prohibited from participating in any activities that generated records on which genealogical research is based.
"Therefore, oral history can be a curial start to your research. While some ancestral lines can be traced back several generations with relatively little effort, researching slaves in the family can only be discovered after painstaking research. The objective of this presentation is to share slave records, and documented sources to use in your research. I would also like to stress the importance of researching the slave-owners and their families. The information you obtain in researching the slave-owners can help provide invaluable information that will assist in helping research the slaves in your family"
Margaret's CV includes:
"Margaret Lewis is the President, and a founding member of the San Diego African American Genealogy Research Group in San Diego, California. She started her “Ancestral Pursuit” in July of 1995 and her research quickly turned into an exciting journey that has taken her through an historical timeline of some of the most significant events in American History. What’s more important is that her ancestors participated in these events.
"Marti’s love for genealogy is expressed through her many published articles: “A Soldier’s Story”, “My Family Link”, “Time Will Tell” which was revised August 2005, to “He Touched Me”, and “Ancestral Roll Call” a poem summarizing her family heritage. She is also organizing her research materials to publish in a Family History Book to be titled, “Ancestral Pursuit.”
"Marti is currently working with the Daughters of the Union “Nancy Hanks Lincoln Tent #5” Editorial Committee to publish a Heritage Book which will feature their Civil War ancestors’ war stories. She has submitted a revised version, of “A Soldier’s Story” and has added a personal narrative which provides a vivid “on the scene” memoir of her great great grandfather’s life story from 1840 -1922.
"Marti is a compelling and influential voice in the genealogy community and she advocates for the study of Family History. She is known for her boundless enthusiasm, and has provided genealogical presentations, workshops and displays at many San Diego City Schools and conferences throughout the State of California, Nevada and Arizona."
This should be an excellent program. If you can attend this meeting, I'm sure that you will learn a lot about African-American research problems and successes.
Devier David Carringer (1889-1890)
David Devier Carringer was born 19 August 1889, in National City, California to Austin and Della (Smith) Carringer. He was named for his grandfathers - Devier James Smith and David Jackson Carringer.
The San Diego Union announced in the August 24, 1889 edition that:
"Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Carringer rejoice in the arrival of a bright faced boy, who tips the scales at nine pounds."
This picture shows baby Devier at two months of age.
The joy turned to sorrow when Devier suddenly died on May 10, 1890. A remembrance card with gold lettering on a black background is shown below.
The card reads:
"One less at home,
The charmed circle broken -- a dear face missed
day by day from its usual place.
But cleansed, saved, perfected by grace,
One more in heaven.
"One less on earth,
its pain, its sorrow, and its toil to share.
One less the pilgrim's daily cross to bear.
One more the crown of the blessed to wear,
At home in heaven."
The family archives include several letters from the extended Smith family in Kansas and the extended Carringer family in Pennsylvania that try to reassure the family that it was God's will. The death of baby Devier apparently caused Austin Carringer to renounce his Christian faith.
The San Diego Union announced in the August 24, 1889 edition that:
"Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Carringer rejoice in the arrival of a bright faced boy, who tips the scales at nine pounds."
This picture shows baby Devier at two months of age.
The joy turned to sorrow when Devier suddenly died on May 10, 1890. A remembrance card with gold lettering on a black background is shown below.
The card reads:"One less at home,
The charmed circle broken -- a dear face missed
day by day from its usual place.
But cleansed, saved, perfected by grace,
One more in heaven.
"One less on earth,
its pain, its sorrow, and its toil to share.
One less the pilgrim's daily cross to bear.
One more the crown of the blessed to wear,
At home in heaven."
The family archives include several letters from the extended Smith family in Kansas and the extended Carringer family in Pennsylvania that try to reassure the family that it was God's will. The death of baby Devier apparently caused Austin Carringer to renounce his Christian faith.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
We're off to Disneyland!
I first went to Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1955 as an 11-year old with my grandparents. There were the five lands and several rides in each land, but the place is much bigger and more popular 53 years later.
We are driving up on Sunday morning (probably in the rain) and will meet our daughter and her family, including Lolo, who will celebrate her third birthday at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney on Sunday night. We will "do" Disneyland on Sunday and Monday, and will love sharing the experience with a darling little girl.
We are staying two nights at a boutique hotel, which advertises wireless Internet so I should be able to post each day and at least read my email and Bloglines. We'll be back home on Tuesday afternoon and I will resume my heavy regular blogging schedule then. Or not, who knows!
Have a good time while I'm gone - visit the blogs on my blogroll and the posts in the "Best of the Genea-Blogs" post! Or rest - your choice. Come on, you know you can't do without your blogreading fix!
We are driving up on Sunday morning (probably in the rain) and will meet our daughter and her family, including Lolo, who will celebrate her third birthday at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney on Sunday night. We will "do" Disneyland on Sunday and Monday, and will love sharing the experience with a darling little girl.
We are staying two nights at a boutique hotel, which advertises wireless Internet so I should be able to post each day and at least read my email and Bloglines. We'll be back home on Tuesday afternoon and I will resume my heavy regular blogging schedule then. Or not, who knows!
Have a good time while I'm gone - visit the blogs on my blogroll and the posts in the "Best of the Genea-Blogs" post! Or rest - your choice. Come on, you know you can't do without your blogreading fix!
Best of the Genea-Blogs - February 17-23, 2008
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week.
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, personal family history, are funny or are poignant.
I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Anthology of Blogger Poems: 2008 Challenge" by Terry Thornton, editor, on the Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi blog. Terry captured ALL of the poems (mostly limericks) writeen by and for genealogy bloggers. Excellent!!!
* "Copyright Issues: Photographs" by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig uses his legal mind to assess the issues with using photographs in blogs, articles, books, etc.
* "My Top 15 - Well, Really - Top 16 - Canadian Genealogy Websites, February 2008" by M. Diane Rogers on the Canada Genealogy, or "Jane's Your Aunt" blog. Diane provides a superb list that I have bookmarked for future use and reference.
* "Land Records: What are Metes and Bounds?" by Diane Haddad on the Now What? blog. Diane provides a great summary of this esoteric and difficult, but vital, research topic.
* "Source Centric Prototype" by Dan Lawyer on the Taking Genealogy to the Common Person blog. Dan describes, and shows examples, of how New FamilySearch will be source-centric when displaying information from the LDS databases.
* "Honoring Our Presidents" by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories: Stories of My Ancestors blog. Miriam discusses her life experiences with this holiday, and expresses her opinion that the schools should have special programs for this holiday. I agree!
* "A New Way to Share Genealogy?" by Lori Thornton on the Smoky Mountain Family Historian blog. Lori investigates Scribd, describes her findings, and has some recommendations for using it.
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, personal family history, are funny or are poignant.
I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Anthology of Blogger Poems: 2008 Challenge" by Terry Thornton, editor, on the Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi blog. Terry captured ALL of the poems (mostly limericks) writeen by and for genealogy bloggers. Excellent!!!
* "Copyright Issues: Photographs" by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig uses his legal mind to assess the issues with using photographs in blogs, articles, books, etc.
* "My Top 15 - Well, Really - Top 16 - Canadian Genealogy Websites, February 2008" by M. Diane Rogers on the Canada Genealogy, or "Jane's Your Aunt" blog. Diane provides a superb list that I have bookmarked for future use and reference.
* "Land Records: What are Metes and Bounds?" by Diane Haddad on the Now What? blog. Diane provides a great summary of this esoteric and difficult, but vital, research topic.
* "Source Centric Prototype" by Dan Lawyer on the Taking Genealogy to the Common Person blog. Dan describes, and shows examples, of how New FamilySearch will be source-centric when displaying information from the LDS databases.
* "Honoring Our Presidents" by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories: Stories of My Ancestors blog. Miriam discusses her life experiences with this holiday, and expresses her opinion that the schools should have special programs for this holiday. I agree!
* "A New Way to Share Genealogy?" by Lori Thornton on the Smoky Mountain Family Historian blog. Lori investigates Scribd, describes her findings, and has some recommendations for using it.
* What is Blogging? Why would I want to do it?" by Becky Wiseman on the Kinexxions blog. Becky gave a talk on blogging - this is her narrative for the talk. Excellent!
* "Not Without My Car" by Chery Kinnick on the Nordic Blue blog. Chery describes her fascination with automobiles and describes her "car" family history.
* "Dead Ancestors Soap Opera, Part I" and "Part 2" by Cat on the Genealogy-Digging Up Dirt blog. Cat is transcribing the Civil War Pension File for George Washington Oakley. You get a good idea of the complexity of some of these files from these posts, and how they dealt with multiple wives and widows pensions. Cat is not done - there are more parts coming.
* "On Fried Mush, 'Hommeny,' Grits and Cornbread, Part I" by Terry Thornton on the Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi blog. Terry reveals the secrets of Southern corn-based food. Interesting (and appalling?) to this Southern (California) lad. I'm looking forward to Part II, though!
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Letters from home - Post 19
This is the eighteenth letter in the stack of Letters from Home to Austin and Della (Smith) Carringer, residing in the San Diego, California area after 1887. An explanation of the family members and situation is here.
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Letter from Della (Smith) Carringer to her cousins (unspecified). Undated, although it is probably October 1903. No envelope. The letter is on “Greetings from Southern California” letterhead, with three pictures, copyright 1901 by Edw. H. Mitchell S.F.
San Diego
510 Watkins Ave.
Dear Cousins,
Your good letter recived and I was so surprised to hear of two more boys in the family but I know George is proud now the men always are when it is a boy. I always wanted a girl I think they are just as nice don’t you? Wish I could have had my two boys to raise together. Hope you all can keep yours they are so much company one for the other. But I am thankfull for my one boy. He will be twelve next month. He is doing nicely in school now.
If it is not to much trouble when you write next time give me the childrens ages for I want to set down all of the cousins children and see how big a tree we will be in fifty years from now. Davie was fourty the 15th of this month so that makes the fourth to enter the four tens if Orpha & Nellie had lived. 1 I am the oldest. 2 Orpha next then 3 Nellie & 4 Davie. 5 (Ada dead). 6 Mary Dyar. 7 Matie Smith. 8 (Aggie Smith dead). Then 10 George 9 Myrtle Crouch. 11 Amy. 12 Willie C. 13 Lutie S. (dead). 14 Louie. Bert Vaux 15 (Ralph Crouch dead), 16 Bert Vaux. 17 Guy Vaux dead 19 Callie. I think 18 Gean Woodward was older than Callie but I do not know for shure. You know from there down Myrtle is older than George for I can remember her saying Monkey for Munger when he was a baby. You know from there down this younger generation of cousins.
20 Ada Woodward. 21 Verdie Dyar. 22 Roy Dyar. 24 Nellie Woodward. 23 Devier Carringer. 26. Chester Dyar. 27 Lyle Carringer. 25 Eva Smith. 28 Vern Dyar. 29 Ellen Doctor. 30 Lezzie Doctor. 31 Grace Doctor. 32 Mable Smith. 33 34 Will Cruchs 2 girls. 35 36 37 Amy 2 boys 1 girl. 38 39 40 Geo 2 girls 1 boy. 41 Orpha 1 girl. 18 Grand chil, 23 G Grand chil.
[no further information]
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This is the last letter to and from the descendants of Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux. I will provide a descendants list in a future post so that relationships of all of these people can be shown.
This sheet of paper was probably a rough draft that Della saved after making a copy and sending it to her cousins. Della is wondering about their posterity - she wants to see how big a tree they will have 50 years from now.
510 Watkins Ave. was the first address given to the house that Austin and Della built. Watkins Avenue became Hawthorn Street later, and the house eventually had the address of 2105 30th Street, and after it was moved to them iddle of the block the address became 2115 30th Street.
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Letter from Della (Smith) Carringer to her cousins (unspecified). Undated, although it is probably October 1903. No envelope. The letter is on “Greetings from Southern California” letterhead, with three pictures, copyright 1901 by Edw. H. Mitchell S.F.
San Diego
510 Watkins Ave.
Dear Cousins,
Your good letter recived and I was so surprised to hear of two more boys in the family but I know George is proud now the men always are when it is a boy. I always wanted a girl I think they are just as nice don’t you? Wish I could have had my two boys to raise together. Hope you all can keep yours they are so much company one for the other. But I am thankfull for my one boy. He will be twelve next month. He is doing nicely in school now.
If it is not to much trouble when you write next time give me the childrens ages for I want to set down all of the cousins children and see how big a tree we will be in fifty years from now. Davie was fourty the 15th of this month so that makes the fourth to enter the four tens if Orpha & Nellie had lived. 1 I am the oldest. 2 Orpha next then 3 Nellie & 4 Davie. 5 (Ada dead). 6 Mary Dyar. 7 Matie Smith. 8 (Aggie Smith dead). Then 10 George 9 Myrtle Crouch. 11 Amy. 12 Willie C. 13 Lutie S. (dead). 14 Louie. Bert Vaux 15 (Ralph Crouch dead), 16 Bert Vaux. 17 Guy Vaux dead 19 Callie. I think 18 Gean Woodward was older than Callie but I do not know for shure. You know from there down Myrtle is older than George for I can remember her saying Monkey for Munger when he was a baby. You know from there down this younger generation of cousins.
20 Ada Woodward. 21 Verdie Dyar. 22 Roy Dyar. 24 Nellie Woodward. 23 Devier Carringer. 26. Chester Dyar. 27 Lyle Carringer. 25 Eva Smith. 28 Vern Dyar. 29 Ellen Doctor. 30 Lezzie Doctor. 31 Grace Doctor. 32 Mable Smith. 33 34 Will Cruchs 2 girls. 35 36 37 Amy 2 boys 1 girl. 38 39 40 Geo 2 girls 1 boy. 41 Orpha 1 girl. 18 Grand chil, 23 G Grand chil.
[no further information]
----------------------------------------
This is the last letter to and from the descendants of Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux. I will provide a descendants list in a future post so that relationships of all of these people can be shown.
This sheet of paper was probably a rough draft that Della saved after making a copy and sending it to her cousins. Della is wondering about their posterity - she wants to see how big a tree they will have 50 years from now.
510 Watkins Ave. was the first address given to the house that Austin and Della built. Watkins Avenue became Hawthorn Street later, and the house eventually had the address of 2105 30th Street, and after it was moved to them iddle of the block the address became 2115 30th Street.
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