Family Photographs - Post 36: Mom, Dad and Nana Seaver

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

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

The persons in this photograph are Betty (Carringer) Seaver (my mother, age 40), Frederick W. Seaver (my father, age 47) and Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver (my grandmother, age 76).

The photograph was taken in summer 1958 (notwithstanding that it was printed in November 1958), probably by my grandfather, Lyle Carringer.

This was the only time I met my paternal grandmother, since she lived in Leominster, Massachusetts and I was in San Diego, California. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the visit (other than I met my cousin Diana who came along with Nana Seaver, Walter and Evelyn (Seaver) Wood - the Wood's were Diana's grandparents). They drove across the country visiting friends, family and landmarks.

It was included in the boxes of photographs passed to me by my mother after 1988.

What do you want to know about TGN/FTM/Ancestry?

Do you have questions, comments or complaints about The Generations Network, Ancestry.com, Family Tree Maker, etc.?

Are there:

* topics that you want to know more about?
* which databases would you like to see available?
* questions you have about their web sites or services?
* complaints you have about their web sites or services?

Please be specific and civil ... tell me in Comments to this blog post (or via email at rjseaver@cox.net) and I will post them in a summary post in a week or two. I will keep comments anonymous if you wish.

Who will tell Dina's Holocaust story?

I had an interesting comment on yesterdays Rosenblat post from William who wrote:

"This hoax is a tragedy. The Rosenblats have hurt Jews all over and given support to those who deny the holocaust. I don't understand why Atlantic Pictures is still proceeding to make a film based on a lie. I also don't understand how Oprah could have publicized this story, especially after James Frey and given that many bloggers like Deborah Lipstadt said in 2007 that the Rosenblat's story couldn't be true.

"There are so many other worthwhile projects based on genuine love stories from the Holocaust. My favorite is the one about Dina Gottliebova Babbitt - the beautiful young art student who painted Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on the children's barracks at Auschwitz. This painting became the reason Dina and her Mother survived Auschwitz. After the end of the war, Dina applied for an art job in Paris. Unbeknownst to Dina, her interviewer was the lead animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They fell in love and got married. Now that's a romantic love story! I also admire Dina for her tremendous courage to paint the mural in the first place. Painting the mural for the children caused her to be taken to Dr. Mengele, the Angel of Death. She thought she was going to be gassed, but bravely she stood up to Mengele and he made her his portrait painter, saving herself and her mother from the gas chamber.

"Also, Dina's story has been verified as true. Some of the paintings she did for Mengele in Auschwitz survived the war and are at the Auschwitz Birkenau Museum. The story of her painting the mural of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the children's barrack has been corroborated by many other Auschwitz prisoners, and of course her love and marriage to the animator of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the Disney movie after the war in Paris is also documented.

"Why wasn't the Rosenblat's story checked out before it was published and picked up to have the movie made?? I would like to see true and wonderful stories like Dina's be publicized, not these hoax tales that destroy credibility and trust."

Thank you, William, for your comment and the story about Dina. I'm doing my small part to publicize it!

Wikipedia has a short article about Dina here. There are seven photos of some of Dina's paintings on the LA Times web site here. A New York Times article from 30 August 2008 showed Dina at her easel in Felton CA and discussed her effort to obtain her paintings from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland.

IdentiFinders is online

I highlighted the Herman Rosenblat fraud story yesterday, and in the post I hoped that Colleen Fitzpatrick and Sharon Sergeant would share more details of the investigation that exposed the Rosenblat fraud.

Colleen, Sharon, Janessa Roberts and Andrew Yeiser have published a web site called IdentiFinders International at http://www.identifinders.com/. Their current front page has some information about the Rosenblat investigation, and Colleen told me in an email that more information will be published. The key paragraph on the page says:

"Identifinders ... focused on obtaining evidence on the location of Roma Radzicki Rosenblat's extended family during the Holocaust. The inconsistencies of Roma's part of the story were just as significant but not as prominent. "

You can see short biographies of the principals of this company at http://www.identifinders.com/services.html. Take a look at the Services offered tab at http://www.identifinders.com/services.html.

I hope that the IdentiFinders thrive. They seem to have found a niche market for forensic genealogy services - one that serves the general public and demonstrates the value of disciplined genealogy research techniques.

UPDATED 12/31: Deleted an extraneous comment from the post.

Tombstone Tuesday - Norman Seaver in Westminster

Norman Seaver (1734-1787) is buried in Woodside Cemetery in Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Woodside Cemetery is east of town and Norman's grave is in the oldest section of the cemetery, on the west side.

There is a rough hewn stone with his name on it, and several smaller unmarked stones in the same plot. The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) have erected a new stone to commemorate his service in the Revolutionary War, and it is marked by a flag on Memorial Day.

I don't know where Sarah (Read) Seaver's (1736-1809) grave is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is next to Norman's and unmarked.

How did I do on 2008 Genealogy Goals?

I posted my genealogy goals for 2008 in my post here.

Here is my accounting of how I did during 2008:

1. Pursue original source material for my brick wall ancestors - especially Thomas J. NEWTON (ME), William KNAPP (Dutchess County NY), Russell SMITH (RI?), Hannah SMITH (Brookline NH), etc.

Grade: D: I found some original source material for the Russell Smith family, but nothing more on his parents or his spouse. I did not search for original source material for William Knapp, Thomas J. Newton, or Hannah Smith.

2. Obtain more probate records, land records and town meeting records for my ancestors of Alma Bessie RICHMOND (and finish Rhode Island if possible!).

Grade: C: I found (on FHL microfilm) quite a few probate records for this group of ancestors, but did not explore land records or town records to any great degree.

3. Add family history information to my genealogy databases as I obtain it from traditional and online resources, with adequate source notes.

Grade: C: I found some significant family history information on some of my ancestors both in online and repository resources. I'm afraid that I still haven't mastered writing adequate source notes although I am trying to do better.

4. Complete editing my Seaver surname database in order to make the notes and sourcing consistent.

Grade: F: Big Oops here [note to self: review your goals sometime during the year to see what you should be doing]. Do I get an F+ for adding good source citations to about 1,000 persons in my Ancestral database? It's a long process!

5. Complete my term as President of Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) with energy, vision, wisdom and patience.

Grade: B: My term as President is complete, and I like to think that I led with energy, wisdom, patience and vision. OTOH, we're doing pretty much the same old thing, but we're doing it well!

6. Create at least three new presentations and deliver them to CVGS and other Southern California societies.

Grade: B: I made a "Finding Your Elusive Ancestor" presentation to CVGS in April, a "Internet Genealogy 101" presentation to CGSSD in September, and a "Genealogy Web Sites You Can Use" to SDGS in November. The last two were essentially the same presentation with updated information.

7. Take at least one genealogy research trip this year to visit ancestral homes, nearby repositories and distant cousins.

Grade: F: We didn't go anywhere for a genealogy research trip (unless one day at NYPL counts).

8. Enjoy at least one genealogy cruise this year with my wife (she likes the idea!).

Grade: A: I successfully maneuvered us onto the Wholly Genes Genealogy conference and Cruise - from New York City to St. Kitts, Antigua, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. I really enjoyed the conference, I'm not sure Linda enjoyed NYC or the cruise.

9. Attend at least one major genealogy conference this year.

Grade: B: I didn't go to the NGS or FGS conferences (because we were going on the cruise). I did go to the SCGS Jamboree in June and had a great time. Is that a "major" conference? I think it almost is.

10. Post quality research articles and notes on Genea-Musings that help other researchers, including my society members, pursue their genealogy and family history.

Grade: B: I'm sure that in the 970 odd posts (well, some weren't odd...) I published in 2008 (on Genea-Musings, there were more on the other three genealogy blogs!) that some of them helped other researchers in their addiction, er, genealogy work. My sense is that I didn't do as many "original thinking" posts this year. Part of the reason is that I was on travel often during the year to take care of the grandsons (6 trips to Santa Cruz).

11. Help family, friends and colleagues pursue their genealogy research as requested.

Grade: A: The major effort here was my friend Ed - I successfully connected him with his step-siblings and found his ancestry in the process. I did smaller projects for several other friends and colleagues.

12. Stay abreast of developments in the genealogy world and pass information to my colleagues and readers.

Grade: A: How can I help but not do this, I'm reading almost 400 blogs and scouring the Internet for new databases and software. This blog doesn't publish every news release, but it tries to analyze the major announcements asking the question "how does this help me, and my colleagues and readers, in their research? What does it mean for us?"

So - the self-graded summary is 3 As, 4 Bs, 2Cs, 1 D, 2 Fs. That averages out to be a B- if all 12 items are weighted equally.

There were more genealogy activities in 2008 than I set goals for - such as evaluate new genealogy software packages, improve my professional knowledge and capabilities, get DNA tests done, and find more distant cousins.

Is this the best music/family video of the year?

Take a look at this video on YouTube. It's hilarious. And oh so true.

Right, moms?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw

ROFL. How would you like to be the children and grandchildren of this mom? What a legacy!

Forensic Genealogy strikes again

I read this morning in the San Diego Union-Tribune that the Holocaust love story in the book Angel at the Fence by Herman Rosenblat was fictional - I'm sure many of you are dismayed that an author could fool a publisher and a TV star like Oprah Winfrey with this story. However, he didn't fool fact-checkers at The New Republic or two forensic genealogists, Colleen Fitzpatrick and Sharon Sergeant.

Colleen passed me these links in email last night:

* Original article in The New Republic framing the controversy about the Holocaust love story Angel at the Fence by Herman Rosenblat
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=f458c2c8-0d4f-4dc7-8cba-15e465c2201a

* Framework of doubts about the story
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=91de36ee-ef8b-4695-99c9-8c0d8c28d1ec&k=54671

* Cancellation of the book by Berkeley Penguin Press published in The New Republic, Rosenblats must return advance
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/12/27/publisher-cancels-rosenblat-memoir-after-tnr-exposes-hoax.aspx

* Dismay expressed by Herman's literary agent, etc. that the story was a lie
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqrb4uMpbj8D7T-XHwX0ylu0Q-0AD95BQUR00

* Deborah Lipstadt's blog carries statement from Ken Waltzer, Professor of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University
http://lipstadt.blogspot.com/2008/12/apples-over-fence-7-statement-by.html.

The latter blog article gives Colleen Fitzpatrick and Sharon Sergeant credit for the research they did to bring about the confession. Unfortunately, there are no details about the research done by the two intrepid forensic genealogists. I hope that they will tell us more in the coming days and weeks.

Colleen Fitzpatrick's web site is http://www.forensicgenealogy.info.

Sharon Sergeant's web site is http://ancestralmanor.com. Sharon has two articles as of today about this case, but no details of the research yet.

You may recall that, back in February 2008, Sharon was the researcher who led a research team, thati ncluded Colleen, that built an airtight case that proved that Misha DeFonseca was not a Jewish child with a forgotten surname or raised by wolves. See my post about this case here. Sharon wrote an article about this case for the NGS Quarterly dated September 2008.

Which podcaster will be the first to bring the research details to us? Or will the news media show some interest in the forensic genealogy of this case beyond the shaming of the author? Hopefully, Sharon will write another NGSQ article about the Rosenblat case.

Sharon's article says "The long arms of truth in history can reach to yesterday, a decade ago or centuries past." Sharon and Colleen are setting excellent examples of finding truth in history - and all genealogists should be following their lead when pursuing their family history. We can all learn more about analyzing difficult problems by reading about cases like these.

Table of contents for New England Ancestors - Holiday 2008 issue

The Table of Contents for the Holiday 2008 issue (Volume 9, numbers 5-6) of New England Ancestors, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, includes:

UP FRONT:

page 5 - Greetings from NEHGS, by D. Brenton Simons

page 7 - In this Issue, by Lynn Betlock

page 8 - Letters & Feedback, including My Most Challenging "Brick Wall"

page 10 - Announcements

page 15 - Education Programs and Tours

page 18 - New England Online, by David Allen Lambert

FEATURES:

page 20 - Crossing borders: Slavery and Two New England Families, by Rev. David Allen Pettee

page 25 - Slavery in Rhode Island, by Christy Mikel Clark

page 30 - Reflections on the Great Migration Study Project, by Robert Charles Anderson

page 35 - Presenting Boston Beheld, by Penelope Stratton

page 38 - "For the Benefit of the Rising Generation": Reclaiming Hannah Mather Crocker's Lost History in Boston, by Eileen Hunt Botting

page 40 - Researching Newfoundland Ancestors, by Judith Lucey

page 45 - Discovering Family Treasures . . . The 10th NERGC Conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, by D. Joshua Taylor

page 46 - Discovering My Revolutionary Connections, by Carl W. Carruthers, Sr.

page 49 - The Diary of Reverend Thomas Cary of Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FASG

COLUMNS:

page 51 - Computer Genealogist: Repositories Going Digital, by Rhonda R. McClure

page 53 - Genetics & Genealogy: Results of a Y-Chromosome DNA Study on Surnames Sisson and Sissons, by Carol Sisson Regehr

page 56 - Manuscripts at NEHGS: Scrapbook Genealogies, by Timothy G.X. Salls

page 58 - Diaries at NEHGS: Excerpts from the Journal of William Freeman, by Robert Shaw

page 61 - Tales from the Courthouse: Fighting for Freedom: True Tales of Slave-Ship Insurrections, by Diane Rapaport

FAMILY FOCUS:

page 63 - Genealogies in Progress, Genealogies Recently Published, Other Books & CDs Recently Published, Family Associations, DNA Studies in Progress

INDEXES:

page 70 - Index of persons (for Volume 9)

page 95 - Index of advertisers (for Volume 9)

This issue of New England ancestors was jampacked with interesting and useful information. David Allen Lambert's column New England Online: From the Desk of the Online Genealogist, deals with nine research problems, providing short answers to questions about records, repositories, cemeteries, etc.

There were three short stories in the My Most Challenging "Brick Wall" section - all challenging research problems presented in hopes that someone else has information that will help the submitting researcher. NEHGS actively seeks stories of readers' most challenging "brick walls" - solved or unsolved, for publication in New England Ancestors. If you would like to contribute, please send your story to magazine@nehgs.org or NEA-Feedback, 101 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116-3007.

I continue to wonder why NEHGS and other societies that solicit "brick wall" problems and stories don't post them on the Internet on a blog or a web site where search engines can find them. The same applies to Tables of Contents, Book Reviews, Indexes, etc. If they just posted them where a researcher could find them with a search engine, they might gain more members and/or subscribers.

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register - October 2008 Table of Contents

The Table of Contents for the October 2008 issue (Volume 162, Number 4, Whole Number 648) of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, includes:

* page 243 - Editorial

* page 245 - The English Background of Richard Kent Sr. and Stephen Kent of Newbury, Massachusetts, and Mary, Wife of Nicholas Easton of Rhode Island, by Jane Fletcher Fiske

* page 255 - The Correct Parents of Thankful Stearns, Wife of Cyrus Knapp of Wardsborough South District (Dover), Windham County, Vermont, by Helen A. Shaw and Barbara (Shaw) Hanno

* page 258 - Identifying the Family of Rev. Leonard Frost (1782-1859) of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, by Joan A. Hunter

* page 264 - Genealogical Material on the Willet and Saffin Families from the Notebook of John Saffin, by Robert Wayne Hart

* page 269 - Richard Godfrey of Taunton, Massachusetts, and His Children and Grandchildren, by Helen Schauvet Ullmann (continued from 162:198)

* page 276 - Richard Scarrit of New London and Branford, Connecticut, by Diane LeBlanc Delbridge (concluded from 162:211)

* page 290 - Gowen Wilson of Hingham, Exeter, and Kittery, by Ken Stevens (concluded from 162:180)

* page 299 - Additions and Corrections

* page 302 - Reviews of Books and CD-ROMs

* page 306 - Index of Subjects in Volume 162

* page 310 - Index of Persons in Volume 162

As always, this peer-reviewed scholarly journal finds interesting and helpful articles for the New England researcher, even if they aren't his families (they almost never are mine, it seems). I have a connection to the Stephen Kent family of Newbury, and the article expands my knowledge of the English ancestry, but doesn't help with his descendants.

I usually find a research nugget or two when I review the articles. The article about the Saffin Notebook reminded me that manuscripts with significant genealogy material may reside in repositories like historical societies and small libraries.