Hey, San Diego area readers - here's an opportunity for a great genealogy day in San Diego, and it's free!
To celebrate October as Family History Month, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society and the Chula Vista Public Library will present a fall seminar:
DISCOVER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
Saturday, October 18, 2008, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library Auditorium
(365 F Street, Chula Vista CA 91910)
FREE for all interested persons to attend.
GUEST SPEAKER: Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG.
* Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family over Time and Miles -- Using various clues, you can piece together the life of an ancestral family.
* John Adam Hollaender: Survivor -- A Civil War soldier’s life story told in the first person by his wife, Caroline Maria Trapschuh.
* Bringing your Civil War Ancestor Back to Life: Songs & Stories of the War of the Rebellion -- Using music and stories to understand to the events on the battlefield and the home-front.
About the Speaker
Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG, obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Communication and worked as a professor in the field for 13 years before leaving academia to pursue her passions: folklore and family history. She recently received her doctorate in Folklore.
A national speaker, Jean began giving presentations to the genealogical community in 2003 and has been doing public speaking for over 30 years. She also volunteers at the Corona CA Family History Center and trains Family History consultants.
For information on past and future programs, comments about Jean’s work, ordering CDs, listings of her various topics, and more, see her website: http://www.circlemending.org/.
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There will be a light lunch available at 12 noon – “make-your-own sandwiches” veggies, fruit, cookies, water, etc. We ask that people take their food into the nearby park to eat. A donation for the food will be appreciated.
RESERVATIONS REQUESTED:
Please contact Virginia at 619-425-7922 or irishdoll@cox.net so that CVGS can plan refreshments and handout requirements.
Visit the Chula Vista Genealogical Society web site ttp://www.rootsweb.com/~cacvgs2) or the Society blog (http://cvgencafe.blogspot.com/) or contact Randy Seaver (619-422-3397, rjseaver@cox.net) for more information.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Evidence of Sarah Martin's Maiden Name in the Putman Files
I posted Digging in the Putman Garden of Genealogical Mysteries last Saturday, and had some interesting responses in Comments. Tamura Jones reviewed several records in Holland for me, and did not find Jan/Johannes Pootman's birth record in Leiden or Delden. He thinks that Rutger Putman might have been Jan/Johannes/ father, but there is no record. Rutger Putman was the church pastor in Delden. Thank you, Tamura!
Holly found Mark Putnam's web page through my post, and proudly proclaims cousinhood with me, and I with her. Thomas MacEntee noted that he is descended from Jan/Johannes Pootman also - more cousins!
Mark Putman emailed me last week, and passed along more information about the family of John and Sarah (Martin?) Putman. We determined that a death certificate of one or more of their children might reveal Sarah's maiden name. We hoped to find a death record for Peter V. Putman (died 1882 in NY, but buried in Ontario), Isaac K. Putman (died after 1880, perhaps in Allegany County NY), Mulford M. Putman (died 1892 in Ontario), Eliza (Putman) Sovereen (died 1895 in Ontario) or Mary (Putman) Hubbard (died 1912 in Ontario).
New York death records officially started in 1881, but we don't know the exact death date for Isaac Putman. The death records for Mulford and Eliza in Ontario don't list the parents names. However, the record for Mary (Putman) Hubbard did list the parents names - John Putman and ???? Martin!
Mark had this information on his web page previously, but now we have the record that supports the information. However, while this is an original record, the information is secondary, since whoever gave the information to the recorder was not present for Sarah (Martin) Putman's birth, although they may have had a written record (e.g., a family Bible, notes on a paper, etc.) that provided the name. So far, it is the only evidence we have!
The next question is "Who were Sarah (Martin) Putman's parents?" Mark said in an email that Clarkson Martin, who had a son Mulford Martin, lived in Yates County NY in the early 1800's, when the Putman's also lived in Yates County. This is the first good lead I've had for Sarah's parents. I sure wish that the New Jersey census records for 1790 to 1820 were available.
One of the "lost genealogy arts" is, I think, the One-Name Study like Mark has done over many years for the Putman/Putnam family. If we had more one-name studies on specific surnames, we might have fewer genealogical mysteries.
Holly found Mark Putnam's web page through my post, and proudly proclaims cousinhood with me, and I with her. Thomas MacEntee noted that he is descended from Jan/Johannes Pootman also - more cousins!
Mark Putman emailed me last week, and passed along more information about the family of John and Sarah (Martin?) Putman. We determined that a death certificate of one or more of their children might reveal Sarah's maiden name. We hoped to find a death record for Peter V. Putman (died 1882 in NY, but buried in Ontario), Isaac K. Putman (died after 1880, perhaps in Allegany County NY), Mulford M. Putman (died 1892 in Ontario), Eliza (Putman) Sovereen (died 1895 in Ontario) or Mary (Putman) Hubbard (died 1912 in Ontario).
New York death records officially started in 1881, but we don't know the exact death date for Isaac Putman. The death records for Mulford and Eliza in Ontario don't list the parents names. However, the record for Mary (Putman) Hubbard did list the parents names - John Putman and ???? Martin!
Mark had this information on his web page previously, but now we have the record that supports the information. However, while this is an original record, the information is secondary, since whoever gave the information to the recorder was not present for Sarah (Martin) Putman's birth, although they may have had a written record (e.g., a family Bible, notes on a paper, etc.) that provided the name. So far, it is the only evidence we have!
The next question is "Who were Sarah (Martin) Putman's parents?" Mark said in an email that Clarkson Martin, who had a son Mulford Martin, lived in Yates County NY in the early 1800's, when the Putman's also lived in Yates County. This is the first good lead I've had for Sarah's parents. I sure wish that the New Jersey census records for 1790 to 1820 were available.
One of the "lost genealogy arts" is, I think, the One-Name Study like Mark has done over many years for the Putman/Putnam family. If we had more one-name studies on specific surnames, we might have fewer genealogical mysteries.
I'm almost ready to cruise
I mentioned several months ago that Linda and I decided to go on the Wholly Genes Conference and Cruise this fall as our major vacation of the year. The cruise is aboard the Caribbean Princess (Princess Cruise Lines) which departs New York City on Sunday, 26 October, sails to St. Kitts, Antigua, US Virgin Islands and San Juan, Puerto Rico, ending there on Sunday, 2 November. We hope to take tours at all of these places.
We are leaving San Diego on Wednesday, 22 October, and have hotel reservations in Queens - we hope to tour New York City a bit (I've never been there, Linda has been there once). At the end of the tour, we are staying in San Juan for several days, returning on Wednesday, 5 November. We're going to miss the World Series on TV (at home), the last two weeks of the election campaign and the election returns (at home), which isn't all bad, I guess!
The Wholly Genes Conference is three days of lectures, some on The Master Genealogist in the mornings, and on genealogy topics of interest by John Titford, Megan Smolenyak, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Barbara Vines Little, John Grenham, Craig Scott, Tony Burroughs, Cyndi Howells, and David Allen Lambert. Dick Eastman, Sandra Hewlett, Robert Charles Anderson, Bob Velke, John Cardinal, Lee Hoffman, Barbara Grempler, and Kent Riggins are also on the faculty. Isn't that great group? In addition to the three days of lectures, there are opportunities to attend hosted breakfasts with these folks and to have one-on-one consultations with some of them.
My plan is to take my laptop on the vacation. The hotels in Queens and San Juan say that they have wireless Internet access - I can only hope! I know that the Internet access on the cruise ship is real expensive, so I probably won't be blogging extensively from the ship. However, I plan to write a daily genealogy journal about our activities and will post them when I can access the Internet. I
just downloaded The Master Genealogist software to my laptop - Wholly Genes offers a 31 day FREE trial for the software. I can take the classes and practice using it with my own databases during the cruise, and hopefully during the lectures themselves.
I really look forward to hearing the lecturers, meeting and sharing with other genealogists, and discussing some of my elusive ancestors (I'm thinking of Thomas J. Newton, Elizabeth Horton Dill, Martin Carringer and his wife Mary Hoax, John Richman and his wife Ann Marshman, Russell Smith etc.) with experts in the field. The only people that I have met in my genealogy work that I know are on the cruise are Dick Eastman and Megan Smolenyak, both of whom I met at the SCGS Jamboree.
If any of my readers are going on this cruise, please let me know and we can get together and share experiences and talk about the genealogy world. Linda loves to share with others, and I know that everyone will enjoy her stories and take on genealogy. Hopefully, there will be spouses of other genealogists that she can get to know and hang out with at the pool, the dinner table or the bar. Me - I'm going to be almost all genealogy almost all the time. I think... unless spousal attention is demanded by someone I love dearly.
If any readers would like to get together in Queens or in San Juan :) for an evening meal, please email me at rjseaver@cox.net and we can try to work something out. I would also appreciate any tips on tours to take in New York or San Juan, or sights to see. Linda is not real mobile right now, so we can't take the subway or probably the bus - we'll end up taking bus tours and cabs, I think.
We are leaving San Diego on Wednesday, 22 October, and have hotel reservations in Queens - we hope to tour New York City a bit (I've never been there, Linda has been there once). At the end of the tour, we are staying in San Juan for several days, returning on Wednesday, 5 November. We're going to miss the World Series on TV (at home), the last two weeks of the election campaign and the election returns (at home), which isn't all bad, I guess!
The Wholly Genes Conference is three days of lectures, some on The Master Genealogist in the mornings, and on genealogy topics of interest by John Titford, Megan Smolenyak, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Barbara Vines Little, John Grenham, Craig Scott, Tony Burroughs, Cyndi Howells, and David Allen Lambert. Dick Eastman, Sandra Hewlett, Robert Charles Anderson, Bob Velke, John Cardinal, Lee Hoffman, Barbara Grempler, and Kent Riggins are also on the faculty. Isn't that great group? In addition to the three days of lectures, there are opportunities to attend hosted breakfasts with these folks and to have one-on-one consultations with some of them.
My plan is to take my laptop on the vacation. The hotels in Queens and San Juan say that they have wireless Internet access - I can only hope! I know that the Internet access on the cruise ship is real expensive, so I probably won't be blogging extensively from the ship. However, I plan to write a daily genealogy journal about our activities and will post them when I can access the Internet. I
just downloaded The Master Genealogist software to my laptop - Wholly Genes offers a 31 day FREE trial for the software. I can take the classes and practice using it with my own databases during the cruise, and hopefully during the lectures themselves.
I really look forward to hearing the lecturers, meeting and sharing with other genealogists, and discussing some of my elusive ancestors (I'm thinking of Thomas J. Newton, Elizabeth Horton Dill, Martin Carringer and his wife Mary Hoax, John Richman and his wife Ann Marshman, Russell Smith etc.) with experts in the field. The only people that I have met in my genealogy work that I know are on the cruise are Dick Eastman and Megan Smolenyak, both of whom I met at the SCGS Jamboree.
If any of my readers are going on this cruise, please let me know and we can get together and share experiences and talk about the genealogy world. Linda loves to share with others, and I know that everyone will enjoy her stories and take on genealogy. Hopefully, there will be spouses of other genealogists that she can get to know and hang out with at the pool, the dinner table or the bar. Me - I'm going to be almost all genealogy almost all the time. I think... unless spousal attention is demanded by someone I love dearly.
If any readers would like to get together in Queens or in San Juan :) for an evening meal, please email me at rjseaver@cox.net and we can try to work something out. I would also appreciate any tips on tours to take in New York or San Juan, or sights to see. Linda is not real mobile right now, so we can't take the subway or probably the bus - we'll end up taking bus tours and cabs, I think.
Keeping up with the Taggers - Post 2
Continuing on with the Keeping up with the Taggers without the descendant numbers for now - here are more genea-bloggers who have posted their Top 5 items in the categories previously defined.
Colleen on Orations of OMcHodoy tagged:
1. Cat at "Diggin' Up Dirt"
2. Dru at "Find Your Folks"
3. Julie at "GenBlog"
4. Cindy at "In My Life"
5. Let's see if I can offer Donna a distraction as she's this close to getting her baby, and get her to do this tag "Waiting For Lauren Elizabeth"
Kathy Brady-Blake on Kathy's Genealogy blog tagged:
1. Myrt at Dear Myrtle
2. Donna at Donna’s Genealogy Blog
3. Paula at Paula’s Genealogical Eclectica
4. Julie at GenBlog
5. Robert at The Baca/Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog
Pat Richley on DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Elizabeth at Crowe’s Nest
2. Tom Kemp at GenealogyBank
3. Mark at Think Genealogy
4. Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider
5. Rene at Renee’s Genealogy Blog
Donna Moughty on Donna's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. The Genealogy Guys (does a podcast count?)
2. Mike at the Ballycastle Blog
3. GenealogyBank.com
4. MacGenealogist.com
5. ThinkGenealogy
Elizabeth Powell Crowe on Crowe's Nest tagged:
1. Cheryl Rothwell of Illinois Genealogy
2. Sandusky Library blog http://sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com/
3. RootsReading http://www.rootsreading.com/
4. Andrea Batcho ifinddeadpeople.com
5. The Bones Collector blog http://bonescollector.blogspot.com/
Diane Haddad on the Genealogy Insider tagged:
1. Maureen A. Taylor at our Photo Detective Blog
2. Bruce Buzbee at the RootsMagic Blog
3. The editors of our sister publication Memory Makers magazine at their blog.
4. Lisa Louise Cooke at Genealogy Gems
5. Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe
Lisa Louise Cooke on the Genealogy Gems News tagged:
1. AnceStories by Miriam Robbins Midkiff
2. Genealogy Traces by Judith G. Shubert
3. MacGenealogist by Ben Sayer
4. The Practical Archivist by Sally Jacobs
5. Genea-musings by Randy Seaver
Bruce Buzbee on the RootsMagic Blog tagged:
1. Janet Hovorka at The Chart Chick
2. Kimberly Powell at About.com (I pick on her every time)
3. Dick Eastman at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter
4. Holly Hansen at the Family History Expos Blog
5. Lisa Louise Cooke over at the Genealogy Gems Podcast
Paula Stuart Warren on Paula's Genealogical Eclectica tagged:
1. David at David Lambert Blog
2. Alvie at Alvie's Genealogy Spot
3. Steve Danko at Steve's Genealogy Blog
4. Drew and George at Genealogy Guys Podcast
5. Miriam at AnceStories
Julie at GenBlog wrote about her items and then tagged everybody who hasn't been tagged yet.
Schelly Talalay Dardashti on Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Renee Zamora, Renee's Genealogy Blog
2. Craig Manson, Geneablogie
3. Kathryn M. Doyle, CA Gen Society Blog
4. Terry Thornton, Hill Country of Monroe County
5. Steve Danko, Steve's Genealogy Blog
Hugh Watkins on the Genealoge tagged:
1. RootsWeb Newsroom five authors
2. Ancestry.com Blog
3. DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog
4. WorldVitalRecords Blog "Whitney Ransom"
5. Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: Google Your Family Tree: "Dick Eastman - last but definitely NOT least :-)"
Denise L at The Family Curator tagged:
1. Linda Steinstra at From Axer to Ziegler
2. Lori Thornton, The Family Historian
3. Miriam Midkiff, at AnceStories
4. M. Diane Rogers, at CanadaGenealogy
5. Lisa at Small-Leaved Shamrock
William (Orange and Blue) at The Sock in the Dryer tagged:
1. Alice at The Simmons Family.
2. Michelle at Ok . . . So . . .
3. Tipper at Blind Pig & The Acorn.
4. Miriam at AnceStories.
5. Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life.
Randy Seaver at The Geneaholic tagged (he cheated and named 10):
1. The Ancestry Insider
2. Sharon at Back-Track
3. Terry at The Desktop Genealogist
4. David at Family History Tracing
5. Russ at Family Tree Maker User.
6. Holly at Genealogy Musings.
7. Deb at Genealogy, Middle Age and Life
8. Tina at Gtownma's Genealogy
9. Carolyn at Life in Possum Holler
10. Laura at Life at the Home20
Miriam Midkiff on Ancestories: Stories of My Ancestors tagged: anybody who wishes to be tagged and hasn't been.
Amy Joihnson Crow at Amy's Genealogy, Etc. Blog tagged:
1. George Geder
2. Ruth at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
3. Linda at From Axer to Ziegler
4. Diane at Canada Genealogy, or, Jane’s Your Aunt (I love the name of her blog!)
5. Sasha at Memory Lane
Janet Iles at Janet the Researcher tagged:
1. Amy at Amy's Genealogy, etc. Blog
2. Brett at Photo-Sleuth
3. Amir at I dream of genealogy
4. Lori at Smoky Mountain Historian
5. Paula at Paula Goff Christy's Blog
Holly Hansen at Family History Expos Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Annaleise Taylor Dearinger at between the signs
2. Elizabeth Powell Crowe at Crowe’s Nest Genealogy Blog
3. Cyndi Howells at Cyndi’s List Blog
4. Thomas Jay Kemp, Editor of the Official Blog of GenealogyBank
5. Bernie Gracy at Historical Town Maps Blog
Lori Thornton on Smoky Mountain Family Historian tagged: no one in particular - she asked readers without a blog to participate in her Comments.
Kimberly Powell on Kimberly's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Megan Smolenyak at Megan's Roots World (One of my very first genie friends)
2. Juliana Smith at 24/7 Family History Circle (I've been a huge fan of her writing for years)
3. Amy Johnson Crow from Amy's Genealogy, etc. Blog (I especially love her Tombstone Tuesday posts...as I'm the type to stop at every cemetery I see)
4. Diane Richard and Phyllis Matthews Ziller at the NGS 2009 Conference Blog (I have deep family roots in North Carolina and appreciate any opportunity to visit the State Archives in Raleigh for more research)
5. Midwestern Microhistory by Harold Henderson (a new blog I just discovered)
Does the game end when the one who started it is tagged again? I got tagged by Lisa Louise Cooke yesterday... maybe I'll just tag five more.
Genealogists really play well with others, don't they?
LAST UPDATED: Friday, 17 October, 1:45 pm.
Colleen on Orations of OMcHodoy tagged:
1. Cat at "Diggin' Up Dirt"
2. Dru at "Find Your Folks"
3. Julie at "GenBlog"
4. Cindy at "In My Life"
5. Let's see if I can offer Donna a distraction as she's this close to getting her baby, and get her to do this tag "Waiting For Lauren Elizabeth"
Kathy Brady-Blake on Kathy's Genealogy blog tagged:
1. Myrt at Dear Myrtle
2. Donna at Donna’s Genealogy Blog
3. Paula at Paula’s Genealogical Eclectica
4. Julie at GenBlog
5. Robert at The Baca/Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog
Pat Richley on DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Elizabeth at Crowe’s Nest
2. Tom Kemp at GenealogyBank
3. Mark at Think Genealogy
4. Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider
5. Rene at Renee’s Genealogy Blog
Donna Moughty on Donna's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. The Genealogy Guys (does a podcast count?)
2. Mike at the Ballycastle Blog
3. GenealogyBank.com
4. MacGenealogist.com
5. ThinkGenealogy
Elizabeth Powell Crowe on Crowe's Nest tagged:
1. Cheryl Rothwell of Illinois Genealogy
2. Sandusky Library blog http://sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com/
3. RootsReading http://www.rootsreading.com/
4. Andrea Batcho ifinddeadpeople.com
5. The Bones Collector blog http://bonescollector.blogspot.com/
Diane Haddad on the Genealogy Insider tagged:
1. Maureen A. Taylor at our Photo Detective Blog
2. Bruce Buzbee at the RootsMagic Blog
3. The editors of our sister publication Memory Makers magazine at their blog.
4. Lisa Louise Cooke at Genealogy Gems
5. Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe
Lisa Louise Cooke on the Genealogy Gems News tagged:
1. AnceStories by Miriam Robbins Midkiff
2. Genealogy Traces by Judith G. Shubert
3. MacGenealogist by Ben Sayer
4. The Practical Archivist by Sally Jacobs
5. Genea-musings by Randy Seaver
Bruce Buzbee on the RootsMagic Blog tagged:
1. Janet Hovorka at The Chart Chick
2. Kimberly Powell at About.com (I pick on her every time)
3. Dick Eastman at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter
4. Holly Hansen at the Family History Expos Blog
5. Lisa Louise Cooke over at the Genealogy Gems Podcast
Paula Stuart Warren on Paula's Genealogical Eclectica tagged:
1. David at David Lambert Blog
2. Alvie at Alvie's Genealogy Spot
3. Steve Danko at Steve's Genealogy Blog
4. Drew and George at Genealogy Guys Podcast
5. Miriam at AnceStories
Julie at GenBlog wrote about her items and then tagged everybody who hasn't been tagged yet.
Schelly Talalay Dardashti on Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Renee Zamora, Renee's Genealogy Blog
2. Craig Manson, Geneablogie
3. Kathryn M. Doyle, CA Gen Society Blog
4. Terry Thornton, Hill Country of Monroe County
5. Steve Danko, Steve's Genealogy Blog
Hugh Watkins on the Genealoge tagged:
1. RootsWeb Newsroom five authors
2. Ancestry.com Blog
3. DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog
4. WorldVitalRecords Blog "Whitney Ransom"
5. Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: Google Your Family Tree: "Dick Eastman - last but definitely NOT least :-)"
Denise L at The Family Curator tagged:
1. Linda Steinstra at From Axer to Ziegler
2. Lori Thornton, The Family Historian
3. Miriam Midkiff, at AnceStories
4. M. Diane Rogers, at CanadaGenealogy
5. Lisa at Small-Leaved Shamrock
William (Orange and Blue) at The Sock in the Dryer tagged:
1. Alice at The Simmons Family.
2. Michelle at Ok . . . So . . .
3. Tipper at Blind Pig & The Acorn.
4. Miriam at AnceStories.
5. Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life.
Randy Seaver at The Geneaholic tagged (he cheated and named 10):
1. The Ancestry Insider
2. Sharon at Back-Track
3. Terry at The Desktop Genealogist
4. David at Family History Tracing
5. Russ at Family Tree Maker User.
6. Holly at Genealogy Musings.
7. Deb at Genealogy, Middle Age and Life
8. Tina at Gtownma's Genealogy
9. Carolyn at Life in Possum Holler
10. Laura at Life at the Home20
Miriam Midkiff on Ancestories: Stories of My Ancestors tagged: anybody who wishes to be tagged and hasn't been.
Amy Joihnson Crow at Amy's Genealogy, Etc. Blog tagged:
1. George Geder
2. Ruth at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
3. Linda at From Axer to Ziegler
4. Diane at Canada Genealogy, or, Jane’s Your Aunt (I love the name of her blog!)
5. Sasha at Memory Lane
Janet Iles at Janet the Researcher tagged:
1. Amy at Amy's Genealogy, etc. Blog
2. Brett at Photo-Sleuth
3. Amir at I dream of genealogy
4. Lori at Smoky Mountain Historian
5. Paula at Paula Goff Christy's Blog
Holly Hansen at Family History Expos Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Annaleise Taylor Dearinger at between the signs
2. Elizabeth Powell Crowe at Crowe’s Nest Genealogy Blog
3. Cyndi Howells at Cyndi’s List Blog
4. Thomas Jay Kemp, Editor of the Official Blog of GenealogyBank
5. Bernie Gracy at Historical Town Maps Blog
Lori Thornton on Smoky Mountain Family Historian tagged: no one in particular - she asked readers without a blog to participate in her Comments.
Kimberly Powell on Kimberly's Genealogy Blog tagged:
1. Megan Smolenyak at Megan's Roots World (One of my very first genie friends)
2. Juliana Smith at 24/7 Family History Circle (I've been a huge fan of her writing for years)
3. Amy Johnson Crow from Amy's Genealogy, etc. Blog (I especially love her Tombstone Tuesday posts...as I'm the type to stop at every cemetery I see)
4. Diane Richard and Phyllis Matthews Ziller at the NGS 2009 Conference Blog (I have deep family roots in North Carolina and appreciate any opportunity to visit the State Archives in Raleigh for more research)
5. Midwestern Microhistory by Harold Henderson (a new blog I just discovered)
Does the game end when the one who started it is tagged again? I got tagged by Lisa Louise Cooke yesterday... maybe I'll just tag five more.
Genealogists really play well with others, don't they?
LAST UPDATED: Friday, 17 October, 1:45 pm.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Keeping up with the Taggers
I started this Tag meme on Tuesday, 14 October, and wondered if we could cover all genea-bloggers before Sunday. Let's see how far it's gone:
I tagged:
....1. Jasia at Creative Gene
....2. Chris at The Genealogue
....3. footnoteMaven at footnoteMaven.
....4. Thomas at Destination:Austin Family
....5. Joe at Genealogy Roots Blog.
1. Jasia at Creative Gene tagged:
....6. Apple of Apple's Tree
....7. Wendy of All My Branches Genealogy
....8. Steve of Steve's Genealogy Blog
....9. Donna of What's Past is Prologue
....10. Lisa of 100 Years in America
2. Chris Dunham at The Genealogue participated but didn't tag anybody.
3. footnoteMaven at footnoteMaven tagged:
....11. Brenda K. Wolfram Moore - Remembering Nona
....12. Ruth Stephens of Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
....13. Sheri Fenley - The Educated Genealogist
....14. Msteri - Heritage Happens
....15. Richard Cheek - The Cheek That Doth Not Fade
4. Thomas MacEntee at Destination:Austin Family tagged:
....16. Midge at Granite In My Blood
....17. Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life
....18. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS
....19. Apple at Apple's Tree
....20. Donna at What's Past Is Prologue
5. Joe Beine at Genealogy Roots Blog hasn't tagged anybody yet.
6. Apple at Apple's Tree tagged:
....21. T.K. of Before My Time
....22. Becky of Kinexxions
....23. Jessica of Jessica's Genejournal
....24. Tim of Genealogy Reviews Online
....25. Bill of West in New England
7. Wendy Littrell at All My Branches Genealogy tagged:
....26. . Jeanna at RootsReading
....27. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History
....28. Nikki-ann at Notes of Life
....29. M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy or ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’
....30. Janet Iles at Janet the researcher
8. and 32. Steve Danko at Steve's Genealogy blog hasn't tagged anyone yet.
9 and 20. Donna Pointkouski at What's Past Is Prologue tagged:
....31. Lisa at 100 Years in America
....32. Steve at Steve’s Genealogy Blog
....33. Terry at Hill Country of Monroe County
....34. Craig at GeneaBlogie
....35. Becky at Kinexxions
10. and 31. Lisa at 100 Years in America hasn't tagged anyone yet.
11. Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore at Remembering Nona hasn't tagged anyone yet.
12. Ruth Stephens at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy hasn't tagged anyone yet.
13. Sheri Fenley at The Educated Genealogist tagged:
....36. Brenda Dougall Merriman
....37. Mark Tucker at ThinkGenealogy
....38. Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy
....39. Kathy Brady-Blake at Kathy's Genealogy Blog
....40. T. K. at Before My Time
14. Msteri at Heritage Happens tagged:
....41. Find Your Folks @ http://findyourfolks.blogspot.com/
....42. Spence-Lowry Family History @ http://spence-lowry.blogspot.com/
....43. Taylorstales Genealogy @ http://taylorstales-genealogy.blogspot.com/
....44.Grace and Glory @http://beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com/
....45. Life's Journey @ http://travelstwo.blogspot.com/
15. Richard Cheek at The Cheek That Doth Not Fade has not tagged anyone yet.
16. Midge Frazel at Granite In My Blood tagged: nobody yet.
17. Elizabeth O'Neal on Little Bytes of Life tagged: nobody yet.
18. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS tagged: nobody yet.
19. see 6. above.
20. see 9 above.
21. and 40. T.K. at Before My Time tagged:
....46. Kathryn Lake Hogan at Looking4Ancestors
....47.Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick
....48. Carol Wilkerson at iPentimento
....49. Paula Goff Christy at Paula Goff Christy's Blog
....50. Lee Anders at Genealogy in the New World
22. and 35. Becky Wiseman at kinexxions tagged:
....51. Taylorstales at Taylorstales-Genealogy
....52. Denise at Moultrie Creek
....53. Chery at Nordic Blue
....54. T. K. at Before My Time
....55. Sheri Bush at TwigTalk
23. Jessica Oswalt at Jessica's Genejournal tagged:
....56. Wendy of All My Branches
....57. Cathy of In Deeds
....58. Harold of Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog
....59. Nancy of Fermazin Family Genealogy
....60. Al of Polish-American Genealogy Research
24. Tim Agazio of Genealogy Reviews Online tagged:
....61. Miriam at AnceStories
....62. Blaine at The Gentic Genealogist
....63. Janice at Cow Hampshire (haven't seen a new post in a long long time...I miss them!)
....64. Lee at FamHist
....65. John's Anglo-Celtic Connections
25. Bill West at West in New England tagged:
....66. Tim Abbott of Walking the Berkshires
....67. John Newmark of Transylvanian Dutch
....68. Lori Thornton of Smoky Mountain Family Historian
....69. Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek
....70. Elizabeth O'Neal at Little Bytes of Life
26. Jeanna at RootsReading tagged: nobody yet.
27. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History tagged: nobody yet.
28. Nikki-ann at Notes of Life tagged: nobody yet.
29. M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy or ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’ tagged: nobody yet.
30. Janet Iles at Janet the researcher tagged: nobody yet.
31. see number 10
32. see number 8
33. Terry Thornton at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi tagged:
.... 71. Amy at Atlantic Ave.
.... 72. Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn
.... 73. Granny Sue at Granny Sue's News and Reviews
.... 74. Janet at Janet the Researcher
.... 75. Andrea at I Find Dead People
34. Craig Manson at GeneaBlogie tagged: not yet.
35. see number 22.
36. Brenda Dougall Merriman tagged: nobody yet.
37. Mark Tucker at ThinkGenealogy tagged: nobody yet.
38. Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy tagged: nobody yet.
39. Kathy Brady-Blake at Kathy's Genealogy Blog tagged: nobody yet.
40. see number 21.
41. Drusilla Pair at Find Your Folks tagged: nobody yet.
42. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History tagged: nobody yet.
43. Taylorstales Genealogy tagged: nobody yet.
44. Becky Jamison at Grace and Glory tagged:
....76. T.K. at "Before My Time" http://krentz.blogspot.com/
....77. Lisa at "Genealogy: I am doing" it http://genealogydoit.blogspot.com/
....78. Lee at "Genealogy in the New World" http://blog.newworldgen.com/
....79. Robert at The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog at http://nmgenealogy.blogspot.com/
....80. Carol at "iPentimento" http://ipentimento.com/
45. Bob Kramp at Life's Journey tagged: nobody yet.
46. Kathryn Lake Hogan at Looking4Ancestors tagged: nobody yet.
47. Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick tagged:
....81. Lidian at http://thevirtualdimemuseum.blogspot.com/
....82. Denise at http://www.familycurator.blogspot.com/
....83. Becky at http://beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com/
....84. Elyse at http://elysesgenes.blogspot.com/
....85. Schelly at http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/
48. Carol Wilkerson at iPentimento tagged:
....86. The Geneaholic
....87. Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog
....88. GeneaBlogie
....89. Genlighten Blog
....90. Writing Your Memories
49. Paula Goff Christy at Paula Goff Christy's Blog tagged: nobody yet.
50. Lee Anders at Genealogy in the New World tagged: nobody yet.
I'm going to end this first post here and start a new one with 51. and on.
If I've missed someone, please let me know in comments and I'll add it to the right post. Please tell me if links don't work too.
There are several "new-for-me" blogs on this list, what about you?
I tagged:
....1. Jasia at Creative Gene
....2. Chris at The Genealogue
....3. footnoteMaven at footnoteMaven.
....4. Thomas at Destination:Austin Family
....5. Joe at Genealogy Roots Blog.
1. Jasia at Creative Gene tagged:
....6. Apple of Apple's Tree
....7. Wendy of All My Branches Genealogy
....8. Steve of Steve's Genealogy Blog
....9. Donna of What's Past is Prologue
....10. Lisa of 100 Years in America
2. Chris Dunham at The Genealogue participated but didn't tag anybody.
3. footnoteMaven at footnoteMaven tagged:
....11. Brenda K. Wolfram Moore - Remembering Nona
....12. Ruth Stephens of Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
....13. Sheri Fenley - The Educated Genealogist
....14. Msteri - Heritage Happens
....15. Richard Cheek - The Cheek That Doth Not Fade
4. Thomas MacEntee at Destination:Austin Family tagged:
....16. Midge at Granite In My Blood
....17. Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life
....18. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS
....19. Apple at Apple's Tree
....20. Donna at What's Past Is Prologue
5. Joe Beine at Genealogy Roots Blog hasn't tagged anybody yet.
6. Apple at Apple's Tree tagged:
....21. T.K. of Before My Time
....22. Becky of Kinexxions
....23. Jessica of Jessica's Genejournal
....24. Tim of Genealogy Reviews Online
....25. Bill of West in New England
7. Wendy Littrell at All My Branches Genealogy tagged:
....26. . Jeanna at RootsReading
....27. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History
....28. Nikki-ann at Notes of Life
....29. M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy or ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’
....30. Janet Iles at Janet the researcher
8. and 32. Steve Danko at Steve's Genealogy blog hasn't tagged anyone yet.
9 and 20. Donna Pointkouski at What's Past Is Prologue tagged:
....31. Lisa at 100 Years in America
....32. Steve at Steve’s Genealogy Blog
....33. Terry at Hill Country of Monroe County
....34. Craig at GeneaBlogie
....35. Becky at Kinexxions
10. and 31. Lisa at 100 Years in America hasn't tagged anyone yet.
11. Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore at Remembering Nona hasn't tagged anyone yet.
12. Ruth Stephens at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy hasn't tagged anyone yet.
13. Sheri Fenley at The Educated Genealogist tagged:
....36. Brenda Dougall Merriman
....37. Mark Tucker at ThinkGenealogy
....38. Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy
....39. Kathy Brady-Blake at Kathy's Genealogy Blog
....40. T. K. at Before My Time
14. Msteri at Heritage Happens tagged:
....41. Find Your Folks @ http://findyourfolks.blogspot.com/
....42. Spence-Lowry Family History @ http://spence-lowry.blogspot.com/
....43. Taylorstales Genealogy @ http://taylorstales-genealogy.blogspot.com/
....44.Grace and Glory @http://beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com/
....45. Life's Journey @ http://travelstwo.blogspot.com/
15. Richard Cheek at The Cheek That Doth Not Fade has not tagged anyone yet.
16. Midge Frazel at Granite In My Blood tagged: nobody yet.
17. Elizabeth O'Neal on Little Bytes of Life tagged: nobody yet.
18. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS tagged: nobody yet.
19. see 6. above.
20. see 9 above.
21. and 40. T.K. at Before My Time tagged:
....46. Kathryn Lake Hogan at Looking4Ancestors
....47.Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick
....48. Carol Wilkerson at iPentimento
....49. Paula Goff Christy at Paula Goff Christy's Blog
....50. Lee Anders at Genealogy in the New World
22. and 35. Becky Wiseman at kinexxions tagged:
....51. Taylorstales at Taylorstales-Genealogy
....52. Denise at Moultrie Creek
....53. Chery at Nordic Blue
....54. T. K. at Before My Time
....55. Sheri Bush at TwigTalk
23. Jessica Oswalt at Jessica's Genejournal tagged:
....56. Wendy of All My Branches
....57. Cathy of In Deeds
....58. Harold of Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog
....59. Nancy of Fermazin Family Genealogy
....60. Al of Polish-American Genealogy Research
24. Tim Agazio of Genealogy Reviews Online tagged:
....61. Miriam at AnceStories
....62. Blaine at The Gentic Genealogist
....63. Janice at Cow Hampshire (haven't seen a new post in a long long time...I miss them!)
....64. Lee at FamHist
....65. John's Anglo-Celtic Connections
25. Bill West at West in New England tagged:
....66. Tim Abbott of Walking the Berkshires
....67. John Newmark of Transylvanian Dutch
....68. Lori Thornton of Smoky Mountain Family Historian
....69. Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek
....70. Elizabeth O'Neal at Little Bytes of Life
26. Jeanna at RootsReading tagged: nobody yet.
27. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History tagged: nobody yet.
28. Nikki-ann at Notes of Life tagged: nobody yet.
29. M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy or ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’ tagged: nobody yet.
30. Janet Iles at Janet the researcher tagged: nobody yet.
31. see number 10
32. see number 8
33. Terry Thornton at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi tagged:
.... 71. Amy at Atlantic Ave.
.... 72. Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn
.... 73. Granny Sue at Granny Sue's News and Reviews
.... 74. Janet at Janet the Researcher
.... 75. Andrea at I Find Dead People
34. Craig Manson at GeneaBlogie tagged: not yet.
35. see number 22.
36. Brenda Dougall Merriman tagged: nobody yet.
37. Mark Tucker at ThinkGenealogy tagged: nobody yet.
38. Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy tagged: nobody yet.
39. Kathy Brady-Blake at Kathy's Genealogy Blog tagged: nobody yet.
40. see number 21.
41. Drusilla Pair at Find Your Folks tagged: nobody yet.
42. A. Spence at Spence-Lowry Family History tagged: nobody yet.
43. Taylorstales Genealogy tagged: nobody yet.
44. Becky Jamison at Grace and Glory tagged:
....76. T.K. at "Before My Time" http://krentz.blogspot.com/
....77. Lisa at "Genealogy: I am doing" it http://genealogydoit.blogspot.com/
....78. Lee at "Genealogy in the New World" http://blog.newworldgen.com/
....79. Robert at The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog at http://nmgenealogy.blogspot.com/
....80. Carol at "iPentimento" http://ipentimento.com/
45. Bob Kramp at Life's Journey tagged: nobody yet.
46. Kathryn Lake Hogan at Looking4Ancestors tagged: nobody yet.
47. Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick tagged:
....81. Lidian at http://thevirtualdimemuseum.blogspot.com/
....82. Denise at http://www.familycurator.blogspot.com/
....83. Becky at http://beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com/
....84. Elyse at http://elysesgenes.blogspot.com/
....85. Schelly at http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/
48. Carol Wilkerson at iPentimento tagged:
....86. The Geneaholic
....87. Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog
....88. GeneaBlogie
....89. Genlighten Blog
....90. Writing Your Memories
49. Paula Goff Christy at Paula Goff Christy's Blog tagged: nobody yet.
50. Lee Anders at Genealogy in the New World tagged: nobody yet.
I'm going to end this first post here and start a new one with 51. and on.
If I've missed someone, please let me know in comments and I'll add it to the right post. Please tell me if links don't work too.
There are several "new-for-me" blogs on this list, what about you?
Absolutely beautiful - Annie Moore
I've followed Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's research, stories, and videos from the beginning of the search for the "real" Annie Moore. I think that this "story line" illustrates the very best in genealogy and family history research, and now the circle is complete. Megan's latest story about Annie Moore is posted in Ellis Island's Annie Moore Honored in Ireland and New York.
Roots Television has videos posted of the ceremony in Cork, Ireland that commemorated her last home there and also a video of the ceremony in Queens, New York to unveil the tombstone of Annie Moore. The former is a bit long, but the latter is only five minutes long and is just absolutely beautiful.
I encourage you to watch the video Annie Moore Memorial Ceremony at Roots Television. The family of Annie Moore, and the extended family of genealogists, has done a wonderful thing here.
Roots Television has videos posted of the ceremony in Cork, Ireland that commemorated her last home there and also a video of the ceremony in Queens, New York to unveil the tombstone of Annie Moore. The former is a bit long, but the latter is only five minutes long and is just absolutely beautiful.
I encourage you to watch the video Annie Moore Memorial Ceremony at Roots Television. The family of Annie Moore, and the extended family of genealogists, has done a wonderful thing here.
What will the descendants think?
Did they really Grill their Granny? Check out this article by Ashley Gebb in the Chico (CA) Enterprise-Record newspaper from yesterday. The key graphs:
"Wearing a necklace adorned with a piece of bone thought to be from her mother's skull, a Corning woman collected her deceased mother's retirement and Social Security checks for the last 11 months after cremating the 84-year-old in the backyard of their home in December. "
and:
"Upon investigating, detectives learned Ramona Allmond died around Dec. 4 and was left on her bedroom floor for about a week before her daughter and grandson decided to cremate her in the backyard, said Tehama sheriff's Capt. Paul Hosler. "
Read the whole thing - it made me sick to think that a child and grandchild could treat their mother and grandmother that way.
Fast forward 100 years, and imagine an enterprising genealogist is looking for a death record for his 2nd great-grandmother Ramona Allmond. But there is no state death certificate for her. Will he find this article in an online archive?
Thank goodness the web site www.GrillYourGranny.com was already taken or these idiots would have their own web site bragging about their carrying out of Ramona's last wishes to not die in a hospital and to be cremated.
"Wearing a necklace adorned with a piece of bone thought to be from her mother's skull, a Corning woman collected her deceased mother's retirement and Social Security checks for the last 11 months after cremating the 84-year-old in the backyard of their home in December. "
and:
"Upon investigating, detectives learned Ramona Allmond died around Dec. 4 and was left on her bedroom floor for about a week before her daughter and grandson decided to cremate her in the backyard, said Tehama sheriff's Capt. Paul Hosler. "
Read the whole thing - it made me sick to think that a child and grandchild could treat their mother and grandmother that way.
Fast forward 100 years, and imagine an enterprising genealogist is looking for a death record for his 2nd great-grandmother Ramona Allmond. But there is no state death certificate for her. Will he find this article in an online archive?
Thank goodness the web site www.GrillYourGranny.com was already taken or these idiots would have their own web site bragging about their carrying out of Ramona's last wishes to not die in a hospital and to be cremated.
Civil War Widows Pension Files at Footnote
www.Footnote.com put out a Press Release today about their Civil War Widows' Pension Files collection - you can read the press release at Dick Eastman's blog here.
This collection is described, on the Footnote web pages, as:
" From the very beginning of the Civil War, widows of men who served and died in the Union Army during the war were entitled to apply for pension benefits. After the war, further legislation was approved to allow for widows and dependents of men who served, survived the war, and died afterward.
"Under the Dependent Pension Act, approved on June, 27, 1890, widows of soldiers serving in the Union Army could apply for a pension by proving the following:
* that the soldier served the Union for at least ninety days during the Civil War; * that he was honorably discharged;
* that the widow provide proof of death, but it need not have been the result of his army service;
* that the widow is without other means of support than her day labor;
* that she married the soldier prior to June 27, 1890, the date of the act."
The Document Types that might be found in these records include:
"The cover page to the file lists the name of the soldier; company, regiment, and state of service; the name of the widow, often with her maiden name; and the names of any dependent children. It also lists which papers will be found within the file, such as:
* Original application
* Proof of soldier's service
* Proof of death
* Proof of marriage - affadavits or certificates proved that the widow seeking the pension was, indeed married to the soldier.
* Proof of children
* Dropped from rolls - this record will give a date of death or other circumstance which required the widow to be dropped from the rolls. In this particular example, note the odd phrasing: 'I have the honor to report that the name of the above-described pensioner who was last paid at $12, to Nov. 4, 1913, has this day been dropped from the roll because of death Nov. 23, 1913.' "
Using the records:
"Records are arranged by state of service, then branch of service. Next, by regiment, then company, and veteran's name. The widow's pension is found under her husband's name.
"If a widow's certificate number is printed on a Civil War soldier's pension index card (T289), available at Footnote - Pensions Index, Civil War to 1900 - search on that number to locate the widow's pension file.
"Because the images in these files are digitized from the original paper records, most of which are over a hundred years old, there may be instances where you will need to view side-by-side images to see the full page. The two images presented here are an example of this where a weight keeping a page flat covers part of the document. Another shot, after moving the weight, brings the rest of the page into view. "
Where did these records come from?
"These are paper records scanned from pension files archived at the National Archives in Washington, DC. They are part of Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2001.
"According to a NARA press release, 'FamilySearch, in conjunction with Footnote.com, will eventually digitize and index all 1,280,000 Civil War and later widows’ files in the series. These records, of great interest to genealogists and others, are currently available only at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The widows’ pension application files, a rich source of information about ordinary American citizens of the time, include supporting documents such as affidavits, depositions of witnesses, marriage certificates, birth records, death certificates, and pages from family bibles.'"
The press release doesn't say how many Widows' Pension Files have been digitized and indexed - the page says that 5,284 images have been produced. That may be several thousand files, but it's a far cry from the 1.28 million files in the National Archives system. Many researchers will have to wait for awhile to see these records.
Hopefully, the Civil War Soldiers Pension Files will also be digitized and indexed in the future. There are over 2.8 million Civil War Pension Files. I can't tell if these 1.28 million widows files are included in the 2.8 million. At present, researchers have to order the Pension Files in paper format from the National Archives using Form NATF 85 for a fee (currently $75 for the first 100 pages, then $0.65 per page).
It will be worth the wait for those lucky persons that have an ancestor in these files. Besides having digital images of these files, and being able to access them at home or at a repository, the real genealogy benefit is that they are indexed. We will be able to find names in these documents even if the file is not for our ancestor. The name of a child, sibling, friend, neighbor or official may be indexed on these pages, and we may learn more about our own ancestor as a consequence.
This collection is described, on the Footnote web pages, as:
" From the very beginning of the Civil War, widows of men who served and died in the Union Army during the war were entitled to apply for pension benefits. After the war, further legislation was approved to allow for widows and dependents of men who served, survived the war, and died afterward.
"Under the Dependent Pension Act, approved on June, 27, 1890, widows of soldiers serving in the Union Army could apply for a pension by proving the following:
* that the soldier served the Union for at least ninety days during the Civil War; * that he was honorably discharged;
* that the widow provide proof of death, but it need not have been the result of his army service;
* that the widow is without other means of support than her day labor;
* that she married the soldier prior to June 27, 1890, the date of the act."
The Document Types that might be found in these records include:
"The cover page to the file lists the name of the soldier; company, regiment, and state of service; the name of the widow, often with her maiden name; and the names of any dependent children. It also lists which papers will be found within the file, such as:
* Original application
* Proof of soldier's service
* Proof of death
* Proof of marriage - affadavits or certificates proved that the widow seeking the pension was, indeed married to the soldier.
* Proof of children
* Dropped from rolls - this record will give a date of death or other circumstance which required the widow to be dropped from the rolls. In this particular example, note the odd phrasing: 'I have the honor to report that the name of the above-described pensioner who was last paid at $12, to Nov. 4, 1913, has this day been dropped from the roll because of death Nov. 23, 1913.' "
Using the records:
"Records are arranged by state of service, then branch of service. Next, by regiment, then company, and veteran's name. The widow's pension is found under her husband's name.
"If a widow's certificate number is printed on a Civil War soldier's pension index card (T289), available at Footnote - Pensions Index, Civil War to 1900 - search on that number to locate the widow's pension file.
"Because the images in these files are digitized from the original paper records, most of which are over a hundred years old, there may be instances where you will need to view side-by-side images to see the full page. The two images presented here are an example of this where a weight keeping a page flat covers part of the document. Another shot, after moving the weight, brings the rest of the page into view. "
Where did these records come from?
"These are paper records scanned from pension files archived at the National Archives in Washington, DC. They are part of Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2001.
"According to a NARA press release, 'FamilySearch, in conjunction with Footnote.com, will eventually digitize and index all 1,280,000 Civil War and later widows’ files in the series. These records, of great interest to genealogists and others, are currently available only at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The widows’ pension application files, a rich source of information about ordinary American citizens of the time, include supporting documents such as affidavits, depositions of witnesses, marriage certificates, birth records, death certificates, and pages from family bibles.'"
The press release doesn't say how many Widows' Pension Files have been digitized and indexed - the page says that 5,284 images have been produced. That may be several thousand files, but it's a far cry from the 1.28 million files in the National Archives system. Many researchers will have to wait for awhile to see these records.
Hopefully, the Civil War Soldiers Pension Files will also be digitized and indexed in the future. There are over 2.8 million Civil War Pension Files. I can't tell if these 1.28 million widows files are included in the 2.8 million. At present, researchers have to order the Pension Files in paper format from the National Archives using Form NATF 85 for a fee (currently $75 for the first 100 pages, then $0.65 per page).
It will be worth the wait for those lucky persons that have an ancestor in these files. Besides having digital images of these files, and being able to access them at home or at a repository, the real genealogy benefit is that they are indexed. We will be able to find names in these documents even if the file is not for our ancestor. The name of a child, sibling, friend, neighbor or official may be indexed on these pages, and we may learn more about our own ancestor as a consequence.
Genea-Musings traffic report - January through September 2008
I've been reporting on Genea-Musings traffic each quarter, more for my own edification, but if this interests you, please read on! My last report was for January through June, 2008.
I signed up for Google Analytics on January 4, 2008 in hopes of being able to gather more information about the site traffic. Here is a summary of the first nine months of 2008:
The graph above is for Page Views - how many times people landed on one of my web pages. As you can see, I average about 350 page views, with peaks at certain times (usually when another blogger or web site links to a post of mine). Traffic has been pretty steady, although there was a dip in Page Views in the spring of 2008.
The statistics are:
* 33,186 Absolute Unique Visits (average 123 per day)
* 58,817 Visits (average 218 per day)
* 94,879 Page Views (average 351 per day)
* 1.61 PageViews per Visit
* 00:01:51 Average Time on Site
* 73.52% Bounce Rate
* 56.32% New visits.
The first two lines mean that 56% of my visitors never come back, and that an average of about 95 persons visit every day.
The bottom of the web page shows more charts and a list:
4) Family Tree Tattoos (posted 11 January 2007) - 708 views
5) Make Your Own Gravestone (posted 29 July 2007) - 683 views
6) Sam Champion's Roots on ABCs Good Morning America (posted 2 November 2006) - 639 views
7) How Rare is Your Personality Type? (posted 20 June 2007) - 624 views
8) Genealogy Software Reviews (posted 2 January 2008) - 445 views
9) "I Am My Own Grandpa" (posted 30 June 2006) - 367 views
10) John McCain's Family Link to Robert the Bruce (posted 23 March 2008) - 355 views
11) Sarah Palin is My Cousin Too (posted 29 August 2008) - 320 views
12) Yep, Barack Obama is My Cousin! (posted 12 February 2007) - 312 views
13) VP Dick Cheney is My Cousin Too! (posted 19 October 2007) - 309 views
14) Was Daniel Boone an Ancestor of Pat Boone? (posted 31 August 2007) - 265 views
15) WW2 Young American Patriots (1941-1945) Database on Ancestry (posted 5 June 2006) - 258 views
16) Obtaining my Dad's WWII Service Record (posted 4 August 2006) - 256 views
I signed up for Google Analytics on January 4, 2008 in hopes of being able to gather more information about the site traffic. Here is a summary of the first nine months of 2008:
The graph above is for Page Views - how many times people landed on one of my web pages. As you can see, I average about 350 page views, with peaks at certain times (usually when another blogger or web site links to a post of mine). Traffic has been pretty steady, although there was a dip in Page Views in the spring of 2008.
The statistics are:
* 33,186 Absolute Unique Visits (average 123 per day)
* 58,817 Visits (average 218 per day)
* 94,879 Page Views (average 351 per day)
* 1.61 PageViews per Visit
* 00:01:51 Average Time on Site
* 73.52% Bounce Rate
* 56.32% New visits.
The first two lines mean that 56% of my visitors never come back, and that an average of about 95 persons visit every day.
The bottom of the web page shows more charts and a list:
The statistics for "where did they come from" indicates:
* 37.64% from Search Engines (a link from a search engine)
* 36.15% Referring Sites (a link from another site)
* 26.15% Direct Traffic (a link from a Bookmark or Favorite, or typing an URL)
Where did these visitors come from? 129 Countries in all - the top 10 are:
* United States - 48,330
* Canada - 3,498
* United Kingdom - 2,577
* Australia - 700
* Netherlands - 537
* Ireland - 566
* Israel - 215
* Germany - 233
* Norway - 197
* Finland - 191
Genea-musings "biggest hits" so far this year have been:
The "top 20" posts are:
1) World Records for Number of Children (posted 21 July 2006) - 3,950 views
2) 5 Year statistics for Ancestry.com Traffic (posted 25 March 2008) - 722 views
3) John Tyler's Grandson is Still Alive (posted 20 February 2007) - 800 views4) Family Tree Tattoos (posted 11 January 2007) - 708 views
5) Make Your Own Gravestone (posted 29 July 2007) - 683 views
6) Sam Champion's Roots on ABCs Good Morning America (posted 2 November 2006) - 639 views
7) How Rare is Your Personality Type? (posted 20 June 2007) - 624 views
8) Genealogy Software Reviews (posted 2 January 2008) - 445 views
9) "I Am My Own Grandpa" (posted 30 June 2006) - 367 views
10) John McCain's Family Link to Robert the Bruce (posted 23 March 2008) - 355 views
11) Sarah Palin is My Cousin Too (posted 29 August 2008) - 320 views
12) Yep, Barack Obama is My Cousin! (posted 12 February 2007) - 312 views
13) VP Dick Cheney is My Cousin Too! (posted 19 October 2007) - 309 views
14) Was Daniel Boone an Ancestor of Pat Boone? (posted 31 August 2007) - 265 views
15) WW2 Young American Patriots (1941-1945) Database on Ancestry (posted 5 June 2006) - 258 views
16) Obtaining my Dad's WWII Service Record (posted 4 August 2006) - 256 views
17) Smithsonian mag cover: "Why Genealogy is Bunk" (posted 25 June 2007) - 255 views
18) Rootsweb to be in Ancestry domain (posted 14 March 2008) - 243 views
19) Does any Genealogy software do this? - Post 1 (posted 10 June 2008) - 241 views
20) Indexing Periodicals, Manuscripts, Collections, etc. (posted 22 July 2008) - 240 views
My observation based on the hit list is that no one is really interested in my opinions on genealogy articles or web sites or my own family history posts, except for those about entertainment and political figures. Also, there are few posts from 2008. Quite a bit of the traffic in this period comes from Google (or other) search engine queries. Oh well...
By the way, this is post 2,302 of Genea-Musings - in 30 months (over 77 posts per month, about 2.5 posts per day on average).
There are more people reading Genea-Musings than just the ones noted above, which come via a link or an URL - the statistics above do not count RSS feeds (e.g., Feedburner (about 185 subscribers), Google Reader, Yahoo Reader, etc.). I am not sure if the stats count Bloglines (perhaps 53 subscribers) or not (I think so?). These readers are probably 100% genealogy devotees, unlike a majority of my visitors to the URL that come via a search engine.
To all of my readers - Thank You for visiting and reading. I hope you learn something about genealogy and have a chuckle once in awhile.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
CVGS Computer Group summary - 15 October 2008
We had a full house - 12 genealogists - in the Computer Lab today for the monthly Chula Vista Genealogical Society Computer Group meeting at the library today. After Gary hooked the master computer to the projector, Shirley asked Randy to demonstrate library online databases and then library catalogs.
First, we visited the Chula Vista Library's online databases - the genealogy-related databases are newspapers, and the library has 20 current newspapers via NewsBank, the New York Times since 2000, the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1983, and the Chula Vista Star-News for 1938-1969. These are accessible from home using a Chula Vista library card.
We checked out the San Diego County Library, the San Diego City Library and the Carlsbad Library online databases also, but needed a library card to access them. Randy explained that all three had Ancestry Library Edition for use at the library branches, but not at home. He used his Carlsbad card to demonstrate use of HeritageQuestOnline. Carlsbad also has home access to NewspaperARCHIVE for library card holders.
Randy showed the New York Times archives (1851-1922, and 1980 to present are free) and Shirley suggested the Fulton History web site for upper New York newspapers. Finally, Randy showed the Google News Archive Search site which is different from Google News.
We then looked at the Catalog search features of the Los Angeles Public Library for those going on the SDGS bus trip there on 1 November. We explored WorldCat and NUCMC to demonstrate how to find books and manuscripts at distant libraries, so that they can order them through Inter-Library Loan.
Lastly, we looked for vital records in different states - using the Vital Rec site, Joe Beine's Death Indexes site, and Joe's Birth and Marriage Indexes site. One of the attendees was looking for Louisiana records, and we found some potentially useful free indexes. Another researcher asked about Wisconsin records, and we found his father's birth record in the online free index.
Some attendees followed along on their own computer system, others watched the demonstrations, and several did their own research in online databases.
First, we visited the Chula Vista Library's online databases - the genealogy-related databases are newspapers, and the library has 20 current newspapers via NewsBank, the New York Times since 2000, the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1983, and the Chula Vista Star-News for 1938-1969. These are accessible from home using a Chula Vista library card.
We checked out the San Diego County Library, the San Diego City Library and the Carlsbad Library online databases also, but needed a library card to access them. Randy explained that all three had Ancestry Library Edition for use at the library branches, but not at home. He used his Carlsbad card to demonstrate use of HeritageQuestOnline. Carlsbad also has home access to NewspaperARCHIVE for library card holders.
Randy showed the New York Times archives (1851-1922, and 1980 to present are free) and Shirley suggested the Fulton History web site for upper New York newspapers. Finally, Randy showed the Google News Archive Search site which is different from Google News.
We then looked at the Catalog search features of the Los Angeles Public Library for those going on the SDGS bus trip there on 1 November. We explored WorldCat and NUCMC to demonstrate how to find books and manuscripts at distant libraries, so that they can order them through Inter-Library Loan.
Lastly, we looked for vital records in different states - using the Vital Rec site, Joe Beine's Death Indexes site, and Joe's Birth and Marriage Indexes site. One of the attendees was looking for Louisiana records, and we found some potentially useful free indexes. Another researcher asked about Wisconsin records, and we found his father's birth record in the online free index.
Some attendees followed along on their own computer system, others watched the demonstrations, and several did their own research in online databases.
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