52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 56: #63, Elizabeth (Putman) Sovereen (1820-1895)

Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I am extending this theme in 2015 to 104 Ancestors in 104 Weeks. Here is my ancestor biography for week #55:

Elizabeth Putman (1820-1895)  is #63 on my Ahnentafel list, my third great-grandmother. She married in 1840  to #62 Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907) .

I am descended through:

*  their daughter, #31, Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874), who married  #30 James Abraham Kemp (1831-1902),in 1861.
*  their daughter #15 Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952), who married #14 Charles Auble (1849-1916) in 1898.

*  their daughter, #7 Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977) married, #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)in 1918. 

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

*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

 =====================================================

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

*  Name:                     Elizabeth Putman[1]    
*  Alternate Name:   Elizabeth Sovereen[2,5]
*  Alternate Name:   Eliza Sovereen[3–4]   

*  Alternate Name:   Elisabeth Sovereen[6]

*  Sex:                         Female   

*  Father:                   John Putman (1785-1863)   
*  Mother:                 Sarah Martin (1792-1860)   
  
2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                     1 January 1820, Wayne, Steuben, New York, United States[1,7]
*  Census:                 1 April 1851 (about age 33), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[2]
*  Census:                 1 April 1861 (about age 43), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[3]
*  Census:                 1 April 1871 (about age 53), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[4]
*  Census:                 1 April 1881 (about age 63), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[5]
*  Census:                 1 April 1891 (about age 73), Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada[6]
*  Death:                   17 March 1895 (about age 77), Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada   
*  Burial:                   after 17 March 1895 (after about age 77), Delhi Cemetery, Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada1[1]
   
  
3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):   

*  Spouse 1:               Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907)   
*  Marriage 1:           3 March 1840 (about age 22), Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
*  Child 1:                  Mary Jane Sovereen (1840-1874)   
*  Child 2:                  Frederick Sovereen (1842-1846)   
*  Child 3:                  Rosella Elizabeth Sovereen (1844-1845)   
*  Child 4:                  Amart Ann Sovereen (1846-1849)   
*  Child 5:                  Rachel E. Sovereen (1848-    )   
*  Child 6:                  Gertrude Ann Sovereen (1851-1938)   
*  Child 7:                  Sarah Adelaide Sovereen (1853-1915)   
*  Child 8:                  Nancy Amelia Sovereen (1855-1927)   
*  Child 9:                  Roselia Sovereen (1856-1856)   
*  Child 10:                Valzoria Sovereen (1856-1877)   
*  Child 11:                Hattie I. Sovereen (1859-1919)   
*  Child 12:                Frederick Alexander Sovereen (1861-    )   
*  Child 13:                Addison B. Sovereen (1863-1942)   
*  Child 14:                Wilbert Melvin Sovereen (1867-1940)   
  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets) - updated October 2025)  

Elizabeth Putman was born on 1 January 1820 in Wayne, Steuben County, New York,[1,7] the first daughter and fourth child (of eight) of John Pieterse Putman (1785-1863) and Sarah Martin (1792-1860), who married in about 1810 in New York. Elizabeth’s siblings were Peter W. Putman (1812-1882), Martin Mulford Putman (1816-1892), Isaac Kinnan Putman (1820-1891), Rebecca Putman (1822-1852), Mary Putman (1825-1912), Martha Putman (1829-????), and William C. Putman (1834-1893).

Mark Putnam provided information about the John and Sarah (Martin) Putman family in Steuben County, New York and Norfolk County, Ontario on his website.[1]  The Putman family migrated to Norfolk county, Ontario in the 1830s.

Alexander Sovereen and Eliza Putman married on 3 March 1840 in Norfolk County, Upper Canada.  The marriage date and place for the wedding of Alexander Sovereen and Eliza Putman was obtained from the Putman family history bulletin by Mark Putman.[1] Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907) was the son of Frederick Sovereen and Mary Jane Hutchison, and was born on 22 December 1814 in London District, Upper Canada.

Alexander and Elizabeth (Putman) Sovereen had fourteen children between 1840 and 1867, but at least four of the children, and possibly six, died soon after birth.  Another, Valzoria, died as an unmarried young woman. The children were:

• Mary Jane Sovereen, born 29 December 1840, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married James Abraham Kemp, 10 March 1861, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, five children; died 20 May 1874, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Frederick Sovereen was born on 28 November 1842 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. He died on 11 April 1846 at the age of 3 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Rosella Elizabeth Sovereen was born on 10 August 1844 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She died on 10 May 1845 at the age of 0 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She was buried after 10 May 1845 at Delhi Cemetery in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Amart Ann Sovereen47 was born on 2 October 1846 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She died on 3 April 1849 at the age of 2 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She was buried after 3 April 1849 at Delhi Cemetery in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Rachel E. Sovereen was born on 15 May 1848 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She died on 15 September 1849 at the age of 1 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Gertrude Ann Sovereen, born 7 May 1851, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married John H. Cole, 19 December 1869, Norfolk, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, four children; died 21 March 1938, Los Angeles, California, United States.

• Sarah Adelaide Sovereen, born 3 May 1853, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Frederick Hugh Crabb, 11 October 1873, Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, five children; died 28 May 1915, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

• Nancy Amelia Sovereen, born 22 February 1855, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Robert Charles Wheeler, 1 January 1876, Oxford, Ontario, Canada, four children; died 1927, Essex, Ontario, Canada.

• Roselia Sovereen was born on 12 December 1856 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, a twin. She died on 12 December 1856 at the age of 0 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Valzoria Sovereen was born on 12 December 1856 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, a twin. She died on 20 December 1877 at the age of 21 in Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Hattie I. "Hetty" Sovereen, born 7 January 1859, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Flavius Josephus Gillett, about 1881, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, seven children; died 22 November 1919, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Frederick Alexander Sovereen was born on 9 Mar 1861 in Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

• Alexander Blake "Addison" Sovereen, born 26 June 1863, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Violet Marie Winters, two children; died 6 March 1942, Swan River, Manitoba, Canada.

• Wilbert Melvin Sovereen, born 3 November 1867, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Fannie Dalton, 15 November 1890, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, no children; died 1940, Windham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

In the 1851 census for Norfolk County, Ontario, the Alexander Sovereen family resided in Windham township.[2] The household included:

• Alexander Sovereen - age 40, a farmer,  born in Upper Canada (U.C.), a Baptist

• Elizabeth Sovereen - age 30, female, born in Upper Canada, a Baptist

• Mary J. Sovereen - age 12, female, born in Upper Canada, a Baptist

• Rachel E. Sovereen - age 6, female, born in Upper Canada, a Baptist

The Alexander Sovereen household was enumerated in the 1861 Census of Canada in Windham township, Norfolk county, Ontario.[3]  The household included:

• Alexander Sovereen - an Innkeeper, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 47, male, married  

• Eliza Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 43, female, married

• Mary J. Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 21, female, single

• Rachael Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 12, female, single, attended school within the year

• Gertrude Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 10, female, single, attended school within the year

• Sarah Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 8, female, single, attended school within the year

• Nancy Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 6, female, single, attended school within the year

• Rozina Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 4, female, single

• Haty Sovereen - no occupation, born Upper Canada, Baptist religion, resides in Windham, age 3, female, single

 In the 1871 Census of Canada for Norfolk County, Ontario, the family is found in Windham township, North Norfolk District.[4]  The household included:

• Alexander Sovereen - age 56, a farmer, of German descent, born in Ontario, a Baptist

• Eliza Sovereen - age 59, born in the U.S

• Sarah Sovereen - age 18, born in Ontario

• Nancy Sovereen - age 16, born in Ontario

• Valarie Sovereen - age 14, born in Ontario 

• Hattie Sovereen - age 12, born in Ontario

• Alexander Sovereen - age 8, born in Ontario

• Wilbur Sovereen - age 3, born in Ontario

• Peter Putman - age 58, born in the U.S., a laborer of German descent (surely Eliza (Putman) Sovereen's brother).

In the 1881 Census of Canada Records for Norfolk County North, Ontario, this family resided in Windham Township:[5]

• Alexander Sovereen - male, age 67, born in O[ntario], religion Baptist, origin German, occupation Farmer, married.

• Elizabeth Sovereen - female, age 60, born in U.S., religion Baptist, origin German, married
  Hetti Sovereen - female, age 22, born in O[ntario], religion Baptist, origin German

• Adison B. Sovereen - male, age 17, born in O[ntario], religion Baptist, origin German, occupation Farmer

• Melvina M. Kemp - female, age 15, born in O[ntario], religion Baptist, origin German (granddaughter)

• Wilbert Sovereen - male, age 13, born O[ntario], religion Baptist, origin German

In the 1891 Census of Canada, Norfolk North District, Ontario, this family resided in Windham township:[6]

• Alexander Sovereen - male, age 76, married, born Ontario, father born United States, mother born Nova Scotia, Baptist religion, occupation farmer, 1 employee, can read and write

• Elisabeth Sovereen - female, age 72, married, wife, born in United States, father born United States, mother born United States, Baptist religion, can read and write

• Wilber Sovereen - male, age 23, married, son, born in Ontario, father born in Ontario, mother born Ontario, Baptist religion, can read and write

• Fannie Sovereen - female, age 20, married, L (in-law?), born in Ontario, father born Ontario, mother born Ontario, C.E. religion, can read and write

Elizabeth (Putman) Sovereen died on 17 March 1895 in Delhi, Norfolk County, Ontario, and she was buried in Delhi Cemetery alongside her husband.[7]

 
5)  SOURCES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

1. Mark R. Putnan, "David Janse Pottman, Also Known as David Potman and Putman," The Putman Family Bulletin (http://www.putmanfamily.org/ : accessed 22 January 2015), page 61, Elizabeth Putman sketch.

2. Census of 1851, Norfolk County, Canada West, District 25, Windham, subdistrict 237, page 35 (stamped), lines 32-35, Alexander Sovereen household ; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1851/index-e.html : accessed 10 March 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-11741.

3. Census of Canada, 1861, Canada West, Norfolk District, Middleton sub-district, Page 49, Lines 33-41, Alexander Sovereen household ; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1861/index-e.html : accessed 23 August 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-1052.

4. Census of Canada, 1871, Norfolk County, Ontario, Schedule #1, district 12, North Norfolk, subdistrict b, Township of Windham, Page 49, Dwelling 174, Family #178, Alexander Sovereen household ; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/index-e.html : accessed 10 March 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-9909.

5. Census of Canada, 1881, Norfolk County, Ontario, Schedule #1, District 158, Norfolk North, subdistrict C, Township of Windham, page 46, Dwelling #204, Family #225, Alexander Sovereen household ; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1881/index-e.html : accessed 5 March 2013); citing Library and Archives of Canada Microfilm C-13263.

6. Census of Canada, 1891, Norfolk County, Ontario, Schedule No. 1, District 96, North Norfolk, Subdistrict Township of Windham, Division No. 4, Page 9, Family #44, Alexander Sovereen household; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1891/index-e.html : accessed 10 March 2013).

7. Find A Grave, imaged, (https://www.findagrave.com), Delhi Cemetery, Delhi, Ont., Elizabeth Putman Sovereen (1820-1895) memorial #221749118.  

===================================

Note that this completes my third great-grandparents.  We will start the 4th great-grandparents next week.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-56-63.html

copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

2nd Annual Heritage Books Cruise Announced for October 2015

Craig Scott, the owner of Heritage Books, sent information about the 2nd Annual Heritage Books Cruise, scheduled for October 18-28, 2015 sailing from Fort Lauderdale, visiting Aruba, Cartagena, Colombia, Panama Canal, Colon, Panama, Limon, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman, and returning to Fort Lauderdale.

You can read more at http://www.heritagebooks.com/cruise.php.

The genealogy program is described as:

Approximately 20 hours of DNA lectures presented by the preeminent experts in their fields. The main speakers are Angie Bush, CeCe Moore and Blaine Bettinger. These are the best people in the world to take us from the DNA beginner to the person that is comfortable with the topic and knows how to navigate this interesting new tool in genealogy.  

Join us for an educational and fun-filled 10 day partial transit of the Panama Canal. Leaving from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on the Coral Princess on 18 October 2015 to Aruba then on to Cartagena, Colombia; Panama Canal and Colon, Panama; Limon, Costa Rica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and back to Ft. Lauderdale on 28 October 2015.

You will be among friends (old and new) and fellow researchers from around the world as you soak up new knowledge and skills through a lecture series that rivals any regional or national genealogy conference - at one remarkably-low price that includes meals, taxes, port charges, onboard entertainment, and conference events. The price list and CruiseWeb contact information can be found here.

As popular as our lecture series is, many veterans of our conference value something else even more. That is the opportunity to share a meal with a world-class genealogist or to schedule one-on-one time to discuss their specific research challenges. Come armed with your records and be prepared to hear about new resources, repositories, and finding aids that will help you to break down those brick walls. Some people find these private consultations alone to be worth the trip.

In addition to our normal evening Stump Craig sessions, hosted by Craig R. Scott, there will be a Stump Craig session during one of the at sea days. Specifically for those people who are not night owls.   

Bring your spouse/companion who will find plenty to do on board while you enhance your DNA skills. Then spend the meals, evenings, and port days together for a truly memorable vacation! No lectures conflict with in-port periods. 

What could be better than a cruise to Panama, and a first-class genealogy conference focused on DNA all rolled into one???

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about using DNA for your genealogy research, plus have a vacation with your spouse or significant other in warm, beautiful and exotic places.  This is equivalent to a weekend conference, and it's on one of the HOT topics in genealogy today.

Linda and I went on the 2014 Heritage Books cruise two months ago and really enjoyed it.  I recommend it!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/2nd-annual-heritage-books-cruise.html

My Genealogy Digital File Folder Organization

I've written about this topic before, but with the Genealogy Do-Over in full swing, and many researchers "starting over" with their digital file folders, I thought it might be a good time to revisit this topic.

My file folder and file naming convention was derived after studying what others had suggested.  My overall goal has been to:

a)  Have a consistent file folder and file naming system so that anyone (especially ME!) can find something in it.

b)  Be able to find a specific file within a few seconds.  Sometimes I don't know if I have a record image or not, so I go check my files.  

c)  Be able to put a new file into the system within a few seconds.

The key to success is to adopt a file folder and file naming system before you start attaching your files to persons and events in your family tree genealogy program.  Then don't change the folder or file names because then you will have to reattach the files.

There are two major parts to my digital file folder system:

1)  File Folder naming:

I have all of my downloaded and scanned documents, photo images and created reports stored in a file folder system that has this heirarchy:

*  My Documents/Genealogy   ---  File folder for genealogy
*  My Documents/Genealogy/Ancestor Files/  --- file folder for Ancestor Files
*  My Documents/Genealogy/Ancestor Files/Family History - "familygroup" -- I have grouped my files by family group (my father, my mother, my wife's, my son-in-law)
*  My Documents/Genealogy/Ancestor Files/Family History - "familygroup"/"surname" --  within each family group, I have a surname folder
*  My Documents/Genealogy/Ancestor Files/Family History - "familygroup"/"surname"/"family" --- each family (husband and wife) has a separate file folder
*  My Documents/Genealogy/Ancestor Files/Family History - "familygroup"/"surname"/"family"/ "filetype" --- within each surname folder, I have several different file types (typically Documents, Reports and Photographs)

Within each of the "filetype" folders are the document and photograph images and saved genealogy reports, articles or books.

Here are some screen shots of the different file folders:

a)  The "Ancestor Files" folder:

This is also where I keep my master lists of items, any testing before I incorporate it, and the records "to be filed" after downloading and entering them into my genealogy family tree software.

b)  The "Surname" file folders  in the "Family History - Seaver-Hildreth-Richmond-White" file folder:

If I have more than one surname line for a surname, I usually add a place name to distinguish them.

c)  The "Family" file folder in the "Seaver-Hildreth-Richmond-White" file folder:

I number my families starting with 01 for the most recent generation with that surname.  I also add additional file folders for the surname when necessary - e.g., a surname book, collected records from vital record books or a website, etc.

d)  In each of these "Family" file folders are the "Filetype" folders:

The Genealogy Reports folder might contain family group sheets, pedigree charts, narrative reports, downloaded or scanned articles or book portions, etc.  Whatever might apply to the particular family.

The Photographs folder might contain photographs of the family members, with the standard file naming convention.

For families with a large number of members, I include a folder for "Related Families" - to cover the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

e)  Within each of the "Filetype" folders are the individual files (in the "Documents" and "Photographs" folders at least):

In some cases, I have added another file folder level to a "Family" folder for a specific record group that might have a lot of record images - for example, "Probate" or "Deeds" or "Pension File."

 2)  The File Naming Convention in the Filetype folder above usually has these components, separated by a hyphen:

:*  Person's name - first name, middle initial, last name (I use first name first so that all of the records for a family member are grouped together),  I don't use spaces between the parts of the name.
*  Year - the year of the event (I put it second so that the records for a person are in chronological order)
*  Record Type - the type of record in the file 
*  Additional persons in the record - spouses, multi-person pictures, etc.
*  Place Name - the locality where the event occurred
*  Any other useful information - a source name, page number or image number

The file names can get fairly long!  But they are descriptive.  One problem is that the overall file name from C to the end of the file name has to be 256 characters or less.  I shorten some elements when that happens.

I include records of children in their parents file folder until they marry.  Then they go into their own file folder with their spouse.  The marriage record goes into the "family" folder.

I have some inconsistencies in the file names shown above because of the passage of time, and don't want to change them.  As my readers know, I am often imperfect, but always trying to improve (except for typing, it seems).

3)  With this system, I know exactly where to find a record, or put a record, for a specific person.  When I open the Filetype folder, I can find the records for a person in the specific family easily - they're in alphabetical order by first name.  If there are two persons with the same name, then use "1" or "2" or Sr and Jr.

The downside is that there's a lot of clicking to go through the file folder hierarchy to get to the right file folder, but once I'm there it is organized and useful.

4)  If you are considering creating a File Naming convention, be sure to do it before you attach the records to a person or event in your family tree software program. 

Develop your convention, practice with it a bit, tweak it to suit your purposes, and then adopt it and use it for all of your downloaded and scanned records and photographs, and for any genealogy reports or books you create. 

Your file system needs to be yours - what works for you - and you can set it up any way you want. 

This method works really well for me and I'm happy that I created it before I started adding images to my genealogy software program.  With over 1,000 images attached to my database, I don't want to change it now.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/my-genealogy-digital-file-folder.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 247: 1726 Marriage Record of Robert Sever and Eunice Rayment

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

The treasures today is the  Boston, Massachusetts town record of the marriage publication of Robert Sever and Eunice Rayment in 1726:

The specific record is on the left-hand page:

The transcription of this record is:

Robert Sever       }

Eunice Rayment  } of Boston  19 ~ [Aug 1726]

The month and date are at the top of the left-hand page.

The source citation for this marriage record is:

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Boston, "Marriage Publications, 1713-1728, Vol. 2," page 252 (image 128 of 151), Robert Sever and Eunice Rayment entry.

This record is for the publication of the marriage - the announcement of intention to marry.

Another record has the actual marriage record of Robert Sever and Eunice Rayment:

The specific record is on the right-hand page above:

The transcription of this record is:

Sept. 2 " [1726]  Sever Robert     Eunice Rayment   " [Saml Myles Pres.]

The source citation is:

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Boston, "Births, Marriages and Deaths" page 259 (image 2073 of 60705), Robert Sever and Eunice Rayment entry

There are several other documents with this same information in the Massachusetts Town and Vital Records database on Ancestry.com.

Neither of the records above are "Original Sources" - both records are from a "Derivative Source" - a transcription or abstract from an earlier, but now unavailable, record book.  At least all of the records are consistent!

Robert Seaver (1702-1752) and Eunice Rayment (1707-1772) are my sixth great-grandparents.  They resided in Sudbury and Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts and had nine children between 1727 and 1752.  

I don't know why they married in Boston.  Robert was from Sudbury, but his grandfather, Shubael Seaver (1640-1729) resided in Roxbury.  Eunice Rayment was born in Marblehead, but had relatives in Boston.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/treasure-chest-thursday-post-247-1726.html

copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Finding the Simon Gates 1803 Home Farm Using Historic Map Works Overlays

After working on finding where Simon Gates home farm was in Farm-Spotting: The Simon Gates Home Farm in Gardner, Massachusetts (9 January 2015), reader Brad emailed me saying:

"I know of a neat website for historical maps.  You might have seen this and perhaps even written about it as I read about it on a genealogy blog.  I'm not sure where. The site is free to browse. The coolest thing about it is the ability to very rapidly overlie Google maps, including the satellite feature to see exactly where a site is.http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/6893/Gardner++Gilbertville/Worcester+County+1870/Massachusetts/

"You can zoom the maps a lot to see great details.  You can use the scroll button on your mouse to magnify and click and drag on the map to move around quickly. Looking at this map in detail there are a couple of more Gates in the immediate area of H. Gates--a Mrs. L. Gates and D. Gates just northeast of H. Gates.  I assume relatives. Once magnified to the site of interest, go to the bottom of the page and click "historic earth basic".  That overlies Google maps on the historic map automatically.  One can choose street map, satellite map, or hybrid map to overlie the historic map.  Then use the map opacity slider to see exactly where the historic map property is relative to the current map.  around 30% opacity is a good place to start with the overlay. In the case of the H. Gates' property one can really zoom in on the satellite map at 0 % opacity and see that the exact home site sits right next to the perimeter paved road along the east side of the correction institute. I can even see some big rocks where the home site was if I zoom in enough.  I don't see any remnant of a house.  Looks like your "red dot" is very close but not quite where the home was.

"The website has many maps that actually show the old property lines with names too.  If you get lucky you'll find maps with your ancestors on them.  Many town maps with streets are available in addition to county maps.  One thing that I've found interesting is that when viewing the satellite map overlay there is often the ability to see the actual cleared property lines with surrounding forest where an old farm once sat.  Mapping is a lot of fun and this is a neat site to use for it."

I worked through this today, and it was pretty much a piece of cake!  Thank you, Brad!  Here is what I did:

1)  On the Historic Map Works website, I found the 1870 map for Gardner, Worcester County, Massachusetts (two screens below):

There's the historic map, and the link for "Historic Earth Basic" is below the orange pricing button.

2)  I clicked on the "Historic Earth Basic" button and the Google Map appeared on the screen with the historic 1870 Gardner map overlaid. 

To the right of the overlaid map is the "Change Map Opacity" slider (set to 75% on the screen above).

I zoomed in (using the zoom controls, or my mouse wheel) to the area of interest and reduced the opacity to 50%:

And then to 25%:

If I change it to 0% opacity, I get the Google Map; if I change it to 100% opacity, I get the historic map.

3)  The user can select either Google Hybrid (streets and satellite), Google Satellite or Google Maps. I changed it to "Google Satellite" and zoomed in some more and can now see the home farm location at 50% opacity:

Zooming in a bit more shows me that the home farm was inside the current correctional facility perimeter:

I guess I won't be going to visit my ancestral home farm any time soon.

4)  Using Historic Map Works for this task is very easy, but it does require that there be a historic map to overlay on a Google map.

A close look at the roads on the historic map relative to the Google map shows many are in the same location, or have been slightly modified.  There are also more modern roads since 1870, of course.

Do you know of a cadastral map ( showing home locations with owner names) showing your ancestor's town and farm?  If it's on Historic Map Works, you can do this too!

This was cool, fun and instructive - thanks Brad!!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/finding-simon-gates-1803-home-farm.html

copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

Top Ten 2014 Record Collections on FamilySearch

The FamilySearch Blog had a post on 29 December 2014 by Alivia L. Whitaker titled "2014's Top 10 Free Online Ancestry Databases."

The most popular list is further down the post:

The lead paragraph of the paragraph above says:

"Of FamilySearch.org’s 1,861 free online historic records collections, the top 10 most searched collections (See Chart) include the free US Censuses, public records, death, and immigration and naturalization indexes. The popularity of US historical records can probably be attributed to the fact that the United States is a country of immigrants. And those hundreds of millions of descendants today are curious about their ancestral origins—which many of us will eventually extend to other countries. In fact, only half of FamilySearch.org’s monthly patrons hail from within the U.S. The other half of its online family history seekers is distributed from dozens of countries from Europe, Central, and South America."

I am not surprised by most of the record collections listed in the Top Ten.  Number 3, the U.S. Public Records, 1970-2009, is somewhat of a surprise to me.  My guess is that researchers look for their parents and their aunts and uncles in the global search, and this database pops up.  It has the most number of records of any database that comes up when a search is performed (the International Genealogical Index has more records, but it does not appear in a search).

I am surprised that the Find A Grave database is not on the list, since it is the database with the 5th highest number of records.I am also surprised that the U.S. Immigration collection wasn't on the list, given that "descendants are curious about their ancestral origins."

Number one on the list is the "United States Censuses, 1790 to 1940."  Were other collections grouped for this list?  Some examples:  U.S. Passenger Lists; England and Wales Census, 1841-1911; England and Wales Civil Registration; Mexico Vital Records; etc.

It seems to me if you are going to group the Census records together, you would group other records with similar content together.  Why weren't the England Vital Records (Births and Christenings, Marriages, Deaths and Burials) grouped together?  Or Germany?  Or Mexico? Or Texas?

Either that, or list the individual U.S. Census collections in the Top Ten.  Perhaps it was because the Census records might take most of the Top Ten slots?

How do you find the list of FamilySearch collections with the most Records?  On the Record collections page, you can click on the "Records" link and see the list, as shown below:

It would be interesting if FamilySearch could provide statistics for how many records in each collection were accessed in the year.  They must have that information since they ranked the Top Ten above by number of searches.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/top-ten-2014-record-collections-on.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

San Diego Cowboys Randy and Stan -- Post 343 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

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/Carringer family collection:

The two persons in this photo are:

*  In front, kneeling with the wheelbarrow, big hat with an under-chin tie, and big grin is my brother, Stan.  He was born in 1946.

*  In the background, standing with the big hat, under-chin tie, short pants, and six-shooter on the hip, is me, Randy Seaver, born in 1943.

This picture was taken in about 1950, probably by my mother or my grandfather, Lyle Carringer, looking to the northwest along 30th Street near Hawthorn Street in San Diego.

The two-story apartment house in the center background is directly across the street from where we lived in the second story apartment at 2119 30th Street.  

Stan and I were probably helping my grandfather with the gardening or clearing of the vacant lot at the corner of Hawthorn and 30th.  That was our "playground" where we played ball, flew kites, and chased lizards and bugs, in addition to picking and eating the fruit, vegetables and berries in the garden on the east side of the playground.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/cowboys-randy-and-stan-post-343-of-not.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

GenealogyInTime Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2015

GenealogyInTime Magazine (a digital magazine, are you receiving it weekly?) published their Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2015 over the weekend, and there were some surprises on the list.  Here is the first page of the Top 100 list:

This first page explains the process used by GenealogyInTime, and is their fourth annual survey.  At the bottom of each page are links to the other 8 pages in the Top 100 report.

Here is the top of page 2, which has the list of the Top 100 genealogy websites:

The columns are Rank, Website name, Category, Country, Free or Pay, 2014 Rank, and Address.

I don't know when these rankings were taken, it was probably in the last quarter of 2014, right after Genealogy.com, MyFamily and Mundia were shut down by Ancestry.  But Genealogy.com is still at #8 on the list.  I can't believe that the frozen message boards and the user webpages are all that popular still.

I am not surprised by any of the other websites in the top 10.  It looks like our Australian colleagues are pursuing genealogy on the Aussie Ancestry site bigtime!  Good on them.

You can scroll down the Page 2 listings and find 7 genealogy blogs on the list:

*  #28 (down from #11) Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, written by Dick Eastman
*  #49 (down from #27) About: Genealogy, written by Kimberly Powell (this is listed as "Articles" for some reason)
*  #86 (not ranked in 2014) The Legal Genealogist, written by Judy G. Russell
*  #87 (#87 in 2014) Gould Genealogy, written by Alona Tester
*  #89 (#81 in 2014) Geneabloggers, written by Thomas MacEntee
*  #97 (#63 in 2014) Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections, written by John D. Reid
*  #99 (not ranked in 2014) Irish Genealogy News, by Claire Santry

Congratulations to these geneabloggers who made the list.  Of course, many of the websites on the Top 100 also have a blog associated with their Internet address, and the blog statistics are incorporated into the website numbers.

Where is Genea-Musings, you might ask?  We made the list the first three years, but have fallen out of the Top 100 this year, and hope to return in 2016.

My thought is that blogs don't receive as much credit as they should - it's unclear to me if RSS feeds "count" in the Alexa ratings, and I'm pretty sure that email subscriptions to blogs do not count in the ratings.  One thing that could help all geneabloggers on the list is to click through from the RSS reader or email and make a comment.

Page 3 provides an interesting analysis of the Top 10 most popular websites in terms of estimated number of daily visitors:

I was shocked to see that the average number of daily visitors for Ancestry.com was only 55,800.  For a website that lists over 2 million subscribers, that is less than 3% of subscribers that visit each day.

The number for FamilySearch, 17,300 daily visitors each day is even more of a surprise, especially since it is free, has records, a tree, education, information, etc.  It seems to me that FamilySearch is out-of-sight, out-of-mind for many genealogists.

Page 4 has a list of the Top 10 Free websites for 2015.

Page 5 has a list of the "Rising Stars" in the Top 25 and in the bottom 75.

Page 6 lists the new websites on the list.  The highest new entry is at #57, FindMyPast Australia.  Further down this page is a table of the holdings of the "Big Three" - Ancestry, MyHeritage and brightsolid.

Page 7 provides a list of the holdings of the Big Three - Ancestry has 13 sites on the list, MyHeritage has 13, and brightsolid has 8.  Further down the page is a table showing the growth of genealogy from 2014 to 2015 - to a total of about 356,000 visits to all genealogy websites (a 4.4% growth, of which the top 10 sites have 151,000, the top 100 have 302,000 daily visits).

Lastly, page 8 lists major takeaways (conclusions) drawn from the list results.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/genealogyintime-top-100-genealogy.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver