52 Ancestors - Week 218: #297 Joanna (Willson) Sawtell (1702-1786) of Groton, Massachusetts

Joanna (Willson) Sawtell (1702-1786) is #297 on my Ahnentafel List, my 6th great-grandmother, who married #296 Hezekiah Sawtell (1703-1779)  in 1723 in Groton, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

*  their son, #148 Ephraim Sawtell (1735-1800) married #149 Abigail Stone (1737-about 1800) in 1757.

*  their son, #74 Josiah Sawtell (1768-1847) married #75 Hannah Smith (1768-1827) in 1789.

*  their daughter, #37 Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857) married   #36 Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857)in 1810.

*  their son, #18 Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) married #19 Sophia Newton (1834-1923) in 1852.

*  their daughter #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) married #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) in 1874.

*  their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.

*  their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.

*  their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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

*   Name:                      Joanna Willson[1]    

*  Alernate Name:        Joanna Sawtell[2]

*  Alternate Name:       Joannah Willson[4]    

*  Alternate Name:       Joanna Wilson Sawtell[3]  

*  Sex:                          Female    

*  Father:                     John Wilson (1673-1717)    

*  Mother:                    Elizabeth Foster (1673-1742)  

2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*   Birth:                     6 January 1701/2, Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1–2]    

*  Death:                    11 September 1786 (age 84), Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[2–3]    

*  Burial:                   after 11 September 1786 (after age 84), Old Burying Ground, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[2]  

3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Spouse 1:                Hezekiah Sawtell (1703-1779)    

*  Marriage:                1 August 1723 Intentions)  (age 21), Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[4]    

*  Child 1:                   Jonathan Sawtell (1724-1801)    

*  Child 2:                   Hezekiah Sawtell (1725-1770)    

*  Child 3:                   Elnathan Sawtell (1728-1758)    

*  Child 4:                   Hannah Sawtell (1730-1762)    

*  Child 5:                   Obadiah Sawtell (1732-1819)    

*  Child 6:                   Ephraim Sawtell (1734-1800)    

*  Child 7:                   Richard Sawtell (1737-1815)    

*  Child 8:                   Elizabeth Sawtell (1739-1804)    

*  Child 9:                   Nathaniel Sawtell (1743-1825)

*  Child 10:                 Esther Sawtell (1745-    )   

*  Child 11:                 Rebekah Sawtell (1747-    )  

4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):    

Joanna Willson was born 6 January 1701/2 in Billerica, Massachusetts, the 4th child of 13 born to John and Elisabeth (Foster) Willson[1-2].  

She married Hezekiah Sawtell (1703-1779) on 1 August 1723 in Groton, Massachusetts[4].  He was the son of Obadiah and Hannah (Lawrence) Sawtell.  They had 11 children born and recorded in Groton between 1724 and 1747.

Hezekiah died in 1779 in Groton, but did not leave an estate.  

Joanna (Wilson) Sawtell died 11 September 1786 in Groton, Massachusdetts[2-3], and is buried in the Old Burying Ground in Groton[2].  The gravestone inscription says:

In Memory of

Mrs. JOANNA SAWTELL, Relict of 

Lieut. HEZEKIAH SAWTELL; 

Who Died Sep 11, 1786, 

In the 85th Year 

of her Age.

There are no probate records for Joanna (Willson) Sawtell in the Middlesex County, Mass. Probate Court record books.  

5)  SOURCES

1. Vital Records of Billerica, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. :  New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1908), Births, page 203, Joanna Willson entry.

2. Jim Tipton, indexed database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com), Old Burying Ground, Groton, Mass. Joanna Wilson Sawtell memorial #56039785.

3. Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, Mass. : The Essex Institute, 1926-1927), Two volumes, Deaths, page 264, Joanna Sawtell entry.

4. Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Marriages, page 150, Hezekiah Sawtell and Joannah Willson entry.

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NOTE:  Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I have extended this theme in 2018 to 260 Ancestors in 260 Weeks.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/03/52-ancestors-week-218-297-joanna.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Seavers in the News - John S. Seaver Died in 1911

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a semi-regular feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the Springfield [Mass.] Republican newspaper dated 29 June 1911:

The transcription of this obituary is:

OBITUARY
---------------
John S. Seaver,

"John S. Seaver, 72, died at his home, 163 Hampshire Street, Indian Orchard, yesterday afternoon after an illness of several months.  He was born in Utica, N.Y., and came to Springfield about 20 years ago, where he had since lived.  He was employed by the Springfield street railway company and had been a member of Wallamanump tribe of Red Men of Indian Orchard.  He leaves besides his widow, a daughter, Mrs. Horace Norcroft of Springfield, and two sons, Harry E. of Indiana Orchard and Edward J. Seaver of Springfield.  The funeral will be held at his home Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock.  Rev. Clarence Seamans of the Advent church will officiate.  The burial will be in Oak Grove cemetery."

The source citation for this obituary is:

"John S. Seaver," obituary, Springfield [Mass.] Republican, 29 June 1911, page 4, column 7, John S. Seaver obituary; GenealogyBank (http://www.GenealogyBank.com : accessed 15 March 2018), Newspaper Archives collection.

John S. Seaver (1839-1911) is in my RootsMagic family tree database.   He was the son of  Joseph Sawyer and Amanda (Hosley) Seaver.  His birthplace is new to me, and is consistent with the 1850 and 1880 U.S. census entries.  He married Evaline D. Baker (1843-1926) in 1861 and they had four children - Edward James Seaver (1863-1933), Harrietta A. Seaver (1864-????), Mary A. Seaver (1866-1920), and Harry Ernest Seaver (1881-1956).

I am a 4th cousin 4 times removed to John S. Seaver.

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/03/seavers-in-news-john-s-seaver-died-in.html

Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver

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I received this information from RootsTech 2018 today:

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RootsTech 2018 in Review

Salt Lake City, Utah (15 March 2018), The desire to discover and connect with one's family or ancestors brought together tens of thousands of family history enthusiasts from 43 countries and 50 states—and even more online—at RootsTech 2018. Celebrities Brandon Stanton, Scott Hamilton, Henry Lewis Gates, Jr., Natalia Lafourcade, and FamilySearch CEO Steve Rockwood keynoted each day of the popular 4-day event originating in Salt Lake City, Utah. Cool technology, popular consumer DNA services, and hundreds of how-to classes kept beginner to advanced attendees buzzing.

_{MISSED ROOTSTECH 2018? WATCH THE FULL KEYNOTES, AND SELECT SESSIONS ONLINE}

The 8^th annual conference continues to grow in popularity. More than 17,000 guests from every state and 47 countries gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center, and more than 111,000 watched live using the internet. Keynote sessions were highlighted each day with special announcements from show sponsors Ancestry.com, LivingDNA.com, MyHeritage.com, and findmypast.com.

In his keynote, FamilySearch CEO Steve Rockwood suggested that when you discover you are related to someone, you treat him or her differently. Using geo fencing technology and a little engineering wizardry, FamilySearch enabled attendees to use its Family Tree mobile app feature "Relatives Around Me" to make connections with unknown cousins in attendance at the conference, showing how they were related and enabling them to communicate and rendezvous. Astonishingly, over half of the attendees (8,450 people) were connected with other conference goers. The total number of cousin connections found at the conference (from 1^st to 10^th cousins) were 2,334,110, which makes the average number of relatives discovered at the show per user 276.

_{WATCH STEVE ROCKWOOD'S ROOTSTECH 2018 TALK}

The show offered over 300 mostly packed class sessions on a vast range of family history-oriented topics, an expo hall filled with vendors’ displays and products, and enrichment events nightly filling every moment with family activity. It was energetic, lively, exciting, entertaining, inspirational, and educational.

Brandon Stanton, author of the blog and book Humans of New York, shared his story of how his dream job came true through hard work and determination. He said, "Following your dreams is nothing but hard work." He said that we shouldn't get to a place where you don't have to work, but to get to a place where you get to choose your work. His blog, and resulting books, illustrate the importance of all individuals. He says "listening is a scarce commodity" in this age of selfies. Stanton has found that everyone needs to tell someone about themselves, if they can find someone to listen long enough—a key to the success of his bestselling books that depict pictures and intimate and personal stories of people around the world. When asked why people share personal stories with them, he replied, "I ask." He says that the feeling of being validated, the feeling of being heard unlocks something in people that allows them to share.

_{WATCH BRANDON STANTON'S ROOTSTECH 2018 TALK}

Scott Hamilton, an Olympic gold medalist, is as energetic and affable today as he was during his career run of athletic medals. He shared a touching story about himself as an adopted child, his bouts with different types of cancer, and the help of “family” figures in his life. He captivated the audience with his love of family and how important families are in everyone’s lives. He told about his own family, his wife, and the miracle and blessings that are his two natural children and two adopted children from Haiti.

_{WATCH SCOTT HAMILTON'S ROOTSTECH 2018 TALK}

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of PBS's hit series Finding Your Roots, shared how an obituary of an "estimable" great aunt he read when he was a child planted the seed for his lifelong love for family history, and how knowing their stories can impact future generations. Gates shared how his journey through an Ivy-league education, African American roots, and a DNA test paved the way to a string of genealogy-related television shows that led to his current popular and long-running series on PBS. He introduced the DNA Detective, CeCe Moore, and explained how DNA is breaking down long held family history brick walls, dispelling myths, and blessing the lives of people young and old. He has created an initiative to introduce K-12 children to the joys and benefits of discovering their family histories in a summer camp called Finding Your Roots: The Seedlings.

_{WATCH HENRY LOUIS GATES JR., AND CECE MOORE'S ROOTSTECH 2018 TALKS}

Natalia Lafourcade, a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter, is one of the best known singers in the pop rock scene in Latin America. She shared the importance of family memories and quipped that family lore says she had French pirate ancestry. FamilySearch revealed a personal genealogy that confirmed her French roots, but could not validate the pirate family legends. She sang songs from her latest album, concluding with the Oscar-winning song “Remember Me” from the Oscar winning animated movie Coco.

_{WATCH NATALIA LAFOURCADE AT ROOTSTECH 2018}

The RootsTech 2018 Innovation Showcase, hosted by Extreme Genes'  Scott Fisher, addressed the state of historic records, digital memories and DNA.  Panelists included Judy Russell, legal genealogist, David Rencher, FamilySearch CGO, and Kurt Witcher, director of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Allen County Public Library, Brewster Kale of Internet Archives, and five popular commercial DNA companies. 

_{WATCH THE INNOVATION SHOWCASE}

In concert with Brandon Stanton's keynote, RootsTech invited aspiring local photographers and writers to participate in a video-story contest. Over 200 people entered the contest, and the winners were Russell Hathaway, Karen Foster, Amberley Beck, and Cali Church. They received prizes such as a Dell laptop and Canon cameras. The pictures with their stories will be published in the future on RootsTech and social media channels.

RootsTech 2018's Family Discovery Day welcomed more than 26,000 attendees—mostly families with children. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, showed how they share their family history with their posterity. Their grandchildren and great grandchildren participated, sharing how they have been able to personally connect with ancestors through written histories, photographs, and stories.

Also participating in Family Discovery Day were Hank Smith and Jason Hewitt, and singers Evie Clair, Kenya Clark, and Alex Melecio.

_{WATCH THE FAMILY DISCOVERY DAY SESSIONS}

Find this announcement and additional photos online in the FamilySearch Newsroom.

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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

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1702 Birth Record of Joanna Willson (1702-1786) in Billerica, Mass. --- Post 403 of Treasure Chest Thursday

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

The treasure today is the 1702 birth record of Joanna Willson in Billerica, Massachusetts:

The birth record for Joanna Willson is on the right-hand page:

The transcription of the birth record is:

"[WILLSON] Joanna, d. John Jr. and Elisabeth, Jan. 6, 1701-2"

The source citation for this record is:

Vital Records of Billerica, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1908), Births, page 203, Joanna Willson entry.

Joanna Willson (1702-1786) was the 4th of 13 children of John and Elisabeth (Foster) Willson, born in Billerica, Massachusetts.  She married Hezekiah Sawtell (1703-1779) in 1723 in Groton, and they had eleven children between 1724 and 1747, all born in Groton.  Hezekiah was the son of Obadiah and Hannah (Lawrence) Sawtell of Groton, Massachusetts.

They are my 6th great-grandparents.  I descend through their son Ephraim Sawtell (1735-1800) who married Abigail Stone (1737-????) in 1757 in Groton.

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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Dear Randy: Why Do You Use U.S. Census Sources from Ancestry.com Rather than FamilySearch?

Reader Judith asked this question in email recently, noting that U.S. Census records and images are available on both sites, in addition to Findmypast and MyHeritage also. 

My answer for Judith was pretty simple:   I decided about 12 years ago to use RootsMagic as my family tree program, and to use Ancestry.com as my source for U.S. census images because they had all of the records at the time (except for 1940, of course). I essentially cited what I used at the time.  FamilySearch, Findmypast and MyHeritage did not have all of the U.S. census records online at the time.  

One reason I decided to use "free form" citations in RootsMagic was that with the built-in EE-quality source templates in RootsMagic (and other programs), I had to have a different master source for each county and Enumeration district.  With the "free form" template, I can use one "free form" Master Source for each year, then put the county and ED and the other details  in the Citation Detail field.  There is more typing in the Citation Detail, but a much shorter and easier to use Master Source list.  

I probably have 20,000 or more census source citations in my database, although I have only a few (about 30) master source fields to deal with.  I could change to FamilySearch as the Master Source in RootsMagic with little trouble, I think.  

The bigger question is "should I use free record providers for source citations when I can?"  I think the answer is that I should.  But that's another challenge - changing details like this is not a real productive task.  I'd rather be working with Hints for my tree people than fiddling with source templates.

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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

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Surname Society Conference 2018 is Saturday, 17 March

I joined the Surname Society (www.surname-society.org) last year, and volunteered to do a presentation at the 2018 Conference 2018.  That is coming on Saturday, 17 March 2018.

What is the Surname Society?  The website says:

"Founded by six experienced genealogists from all corners of the globe, The Surname Society was launched in November 2014 to offer an innovative, collaborative, modern approach to the world of surname studies.

"In the last few decades, researching family history has become a much more popular pastime, made easier by the availability of records online. It is important for a 21st century society to appreciate these changes, offer appropriate facilities to its members and adapt these services as the genealogical world evolves.

"Recent technological advances allow researchers anywhere in the world to collaborate, share the results of their surname research and to present their work online to a wider audience. Many events, educational presentations, conferences and seminars are now delivered online live or available for later viewing. As an online-only society, The Surname Society leverages these modern technologies to deliver modern services to its members.

"Membership of the society is not restricted to individuals and is open to societies, associations and other groups researching surnames (e.g. DNA, etymologists and academia) anywhere in the world. Members need not be experienced researchers as the society and its members offer support, advice and encouragement for those wishing to engage in this particular form of research. These aims are delivered via the Forum, Newsletter (The Surname Scribbler), chat rooms, collaborative surname pages, monthly educational Google+ Hangouts, YouTube videos and as the society evolves, more membership benefits will be developed."

So I joined for 5 pounds via Paypal, and have enjoyed reading the quarterly newsletter and browsing the website.

Now the Conference 2018 is coming up, and the presentation schedule is:

*  3 p.m. GMT (11 a.m. EDT, 8 a.m. PDT):  Start and Open of Conference

*  3:10 p.m. GMT (11:10 a.m. EDT,  8:10 a.m. PDT):  Michelle Leonard on "DNA is Dynamite: How to Ignite Your Ancestral Research"

*  4 p.m. GMT (12 noon EDT, 9 a.m. PDT):  John Boeren on "Dutch Records"

*  5 p.m. GMT:  Break

*  5:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. EDT, 120:30 a.m. PDT):  Marie Cappart on "Belgian Records"

* 6:30 p.m.GMT (2:30 p.m. EDT, 11:30 a.m. PDT):  Annual General Meeting

*  7 p.m.:  Break

*   7:30 p.m. GMT (3:30 p.m. EDT, 12:30 p.m. PDT):  Randy Seaver on "Using FamilySearch Digital Microfilm to Find Genealogical Records"

*  8:30 p.m. GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT, 1:30 p.m. PDT):   Kirsty F. Wilkinson on "Researching Scottish Ancestors Using Ancestry"

So if you want to view this "FREE to Members" Conference, you need to sign up - it's only 5 pounds! - as soon as possible.  You can watch the sessions live on Saturday, or view them after the conference at your own leisure.

Join the Surname Society at http://surname-society.org/why-join-us/.

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/03/surname-society-conference-2018-is.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Visiting the New San Diego Central Library Genealogy Collection in 2014 -- Post 507 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

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

Here are some photos from April of 2014 - my Chula Viata Genealogical Society group had a research trip to the new San Diego Central Library, with the combined genealogy resources of the San Diego Genealogical Society and the San Diego Public Library, which opened on the 9th floor in April 2014.


1)  The floor plan of the 9th floor:

2)  The sign at the entrance:

3)  There are a number of computer stations just inside the door:

That is Chris Christensen, the head SDGS docent at the library, in April 2014.  He has since moved to Nebraska.

4)  A view from the entrance to the back of the library:

5)  A panorama view from the entrance area:

More photos next week!

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/03/visiting-new-san-diego-central-library.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.