Paul Allen gave a talk in Salt Lake City to the local Association of Professional Genealogists chapter and then blogged about it - his post is here. He took a survey at the start of the talk - did they want to hear about the early history of Ancestry.com or did they want to hear about the future of genealogy? Everyone voted for the latter, but he talked a bit about Ancestry/MyFamily anyway. Then he talked about the future, especially of www.WorldVitalRecords.com. He covered some of his thoughts in his blog post.
The most interesting part of his post is:
"We [WorldVitalRecords] will do some digitizing and indexing but it will be small in relation to these other organizations who make this their primary business. Our fundamental approach is to partner with content providers worldwide and to enable our customers to find records in their databases, whether we host them or not. ... Our business model is built on paying substantial royalties to content owners."
He also said that there is one seat on their Board of Directors reserved for an "industry expert." He suggested that there could be a "Genealogy Idol" series on Roots Television to select that person - one candidate gets voted off every week.
He ended with this:
"Anyway, in the coming weeks it will become more clear what place World Vital Records hopes to fill in the family/genealogy community, and how we will differentiate our products and services from those that are currently offered by the leading online genealogy companies.
"If you are into genealogy, I invite you to give me a list of the top 5 things you would do if you were running World Vital Records. I’m very interested in hearing from you. (But be careful–if your suggestions are too good, you might get recruited by the genealogy community to fill an open board seat!)"
Well now, that certainly is blog fodder for some of us, isn't it? I'll jump in:
1) STATE VITAL RECORDS. As many as possible. Ancestry.com doesn't have them all. Nobody has them all in one place online. The LDS has the best "collection" available to researchers but they're on microfilm. Births, marriages and deaths from as many states as possible over as wide a range as possible. Consider partnering with state vital records offices to digitize them, provide searchable databases and host the databases.
2) VITAL RECORDS IN OTHER COUNTRIES: Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Caribbean, Latin America, Australia, Scandinavia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, etc. Partner with governments, genealogy and historical societies, churches, etc.
3) BIBLE RECORDS and OTHER FAMILY PAPERS: The DAR, NGS and other genealogical/historical societies have collections of these either online, on microfilm, in publications or moldering away in society file cabinets and garages. There are some online on web sites and blogs. Many local societies have "vertical files" of papers submitted by members or their estates. Organize local genealogy societies to find, collect, digitize and publish them.
4) COLLECTIONS OF PEDIGREE CHARTS: Many local genealogy societies have books chock full of pedigree charts submitted by members. My small society (80 members) has four books of them - maybe 200 charts. It's another project that could be organized for local genealogy societies to digitize and publish them. WVR did this with the large Everton collection - a good job!
5) CLEARING HOUSE FOR VITAL RECORDS: A one-stop shop for every country, every state, every county. Provide a list of what records are available on any media - paper, microfilm, online database, etc. Provide links to available online records (even to LDS and other commercial companies). Tell what is available on microfilm. Provide links to vital records offices for those unavailable on media.
There's my fave five. I'm pretty sure that WVR is considering things like these already. I hope so - they have smart leadership.
Read Paul's entire post - it touches on a lot of interesting topics. I can hardly wait to hear what the 12 mistakes that Ancestry made after he left them. Likewise, I'm interested in his vision for WorldVitalRecords and for the future of genealogy.
Shoot - never mind - I'm embarrassed by my lack of real vision - I make that list above and find out, by reading Paul's blog over the last year, that WVR is doing most of those things. Here are Paul's goals for 2007 - revealing. Oh well, a small mind on a small blog. That's why he's rich and famous and I'm stuck on 200 readers a day.
What do you think? Tell Paul - he wants to know! But read his blog first. Post your comments on his post here.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Nobody went to the Party?
They held a blog party, er, an exposition, called BlogWorldExpo in Las Vegas this week. Thousands of bloggers showed up - I guess no genealogy blogger attended. Too bad. It would have been fun. Rubbing elbows with the "big boys and girls." Seminars, forums, talks, parties, dinners, arguments, sharing, etc.
I guess it would have been even funnier if only one Genea-blogger had attended - a party of one. Were any genea-bloggers invited or even aware of BlogWorldExpo? I knew about it because of who I mindlessly listen to on the radio while concentrating on genealogy in the Genea-Cave.
A smart NGS or FGS conference planner might want to organize a "meet-and-greet" or even have a conference track (well, maybe one talk?) about genealogy blogging in 2008. While our numbers are small, our influence is migh..., um, pretty small too. Well, except for the "corporate" genea-bloggers who actually do it while making a living doing genealogy.
But we have a lot of fun in our little blog world, don't we? "Talking" and sharing with our audience of 100 or so visitors each day (some may even return, some are on the MTA ( another song to write lyrics too perhaps? down Randy)).
See y'all next year at the BlogWorldExpo!! Our little group can sit at a corner table, share some drinks, food and family stories and watch the arguments between the prog/con, Win/Mac, and God/athe bloggers. Maybe they'll even have "ultimate fighting" battles next year!
I guess it would have been even funnier if only one Genea-blogger had attended - a party of one. Were any genea-bloggers invited or even aware of BlogWorldExpo? I knew about it because of who I mindlessly listen to on the radio while concentrating on genealogy in the Genea-Cave.
A smart NGS or FGS conference planner might want to organize a "meet-and-greet" or even have a conference track (well, maybe one talk?) about genealogy blogging in 2008. While our numbers are small, our influence is migh..., um, pretty small too. Well, except for the "corporate" genea-bloggers who actually do it while making a living doing genealogy.
But we have a lot of fun in our little blog world, don't we? "Talking" and sharing with our audience of 100 or so visitors each day (some may even return, some are on the MTA ( another song to write lyrics too perhaps? down Randy)).
See y'all next year at the BlogWorldExpo!! Our little group can sit at a corner table, share some drinks, food and family stories and watch the arguments between the prog/con, Win/Mac, and God/athe bloggers. Maybe they'll even have "ultimate fighting" battles next year!
Friday, November 9, 2007
You Learn Something New Every Day
When you're working on genealogy and family history nearly every day, and often for hours on each day, you should strive to learn something new each day.
Today was a frustrating genealogy day for me. I had the day all planned. We received a query last month asking for cemetery information on three people, and then a request for death certificates for these three people, who all died in the 1930's. I had to wait until I got the money in hand to pay for them as a sound financial measure (having been burned in the past!). I received the money on Monday last, and so I planned to go to the San Diego County Clerk's office branch here in Chula Vista to order the death certificates.
My previous experience at the County clerk's office getting death certificates has been great - it takes about 5 minutes to ask for it and about 10 minutes to get it, you pay $12 and walk out happy as a clam. I've done that at least 10 times in the past 5 years. Never a problem.
Today - a problem. Because the deaths occurred in the 1930's, two of the records were not on the county computer system. The clerk had to call to the main office in San Diego and have the records pulled from the paper files, copied, and then faxed to the Chula Vista office. One of the faxed copies was not dark enough - you could hardly see the typewritten information in many fields. The second one was dark enough, but the clerk could not figure out how to get the "For Information Only" overlaid on the certificate. The third one was in the system and I received the certificate. Her recommendation was to go down to the San Diego office and they would be able to give me the two certificates. This process took an hour instead of 15 minutes, throwing off my whole schedule for the day.
While I was waiting, I "played" with the public computer system at the County Clerk's office. Their system has categories of Assessor and Taxpayers, Real Estate Index, Marriage Records (1973-2007) and Death Records (1905-2007). I managed to find the names of the owners of all of the houses on our street, plus the assessed value and the property tax on each property. Now I know more of my neighbors names!
In the Marriage Records (1973-2007), the information contains only the names of the bride and groom and the date - no ages, birthplaces, location of marriage, etc. There are marriage records for 1960 to 1985 on www.Ancestry.com, and at the LDS FHCs on microfiche, but this is the first time I've seen marriages after 1985 anywhere. Good! I learned something new there.
To see the Death Records (1905-2007), they require that you fill out a form in order to see them. In the future, this may be a good way to find recent deaths, since www.Ancestry.com and www.Rootsweb.com databases are from 1940 to 1997, and the Vitalsearch records are for 1905-1939 and 1940-2000. Again, I learned something. I should have filled out the form, I guess, to see what information could be obtained, but the clerk called me to give me the good news about my certificates.
I went to Costco for lunch, then met my friend to go walking, but he couldn't go. So I went to the library for 10 minutes and came home early. Scanning was the time-spender this afternoon.
Today was a frustrating genealogy day for me. I had the day all planned. We received a query last month asking for cemetery information on three people, and then a request for death certificates for these three people, who all died in the 1930's. I had to wait until I got the money in hand to pay for them as a sound financial measure (having been burned in the past!). I received the money on Monday last, and so I planned to go to the San Diego County Clerk's office branch here in Chula Vista to order the death certificates.
My previous experience at the County clerk's office getting death certificates has been great - it takes about 5 minutes to ask for it and about 10 minutes to get it, you pay $12 and walk out happy as a clam. I've done that at least 10 times in the past 5 years. Never a problem.
Today - a problem. Because the deaths occurred in the 1930's, two of the records were not on the county computer system. The clerk had to call to the main office in San Diego and have the records pulled from the paper files, copied, and then faxed to the Chula Vista office. One of the faxed copies was not dark enough - you could hardly see the typewritten information in many fields. The second one was dark enough, but the clerk could not figure out how to get the "For Information Only" overlaid on the certificate. The third one was in the system and I received the certificate. Her recommendation was to go down to the San Diego office and they would be able to give me the two certificates. This process took an hour instead of 15 minutes, throwing off my whole schedule for the day.
While I was waiting, I "played" with the public computer system at the County Clerk's office. Their system has categories of Assessor and Taxpayers, Real Estate Index, Marriage Records (1973-2007) and Death Records (1905-2007). I managed to find the names of the owners of all of the houses on our street, plus the assessed value and the property tax on each property. Now I know more of my neighbors names!
In the Marriage Records (1973-2007), the information contains only the names of the bride and groom and the date - no ages, birthplaces, location of marriage, etc. There are marriage records for 1960 to 1985 on www.Ancestry.com, and at the LDS FHCs on microfiche, but this is the first time I've seen marriages after 1985 anywhere. Good! I learned something new there.
To see the Death Records (1905-2007), they require that you fill out a form in order to see them. In the future, this may be a good way to find recent deaths, since www.Ancestry.com and www.Rootsweb.com databases are from 1940 to 1997, and the Vitalsearch records are for 1905-1939 and 1940-2000. Again, I learned something. I should have filled out the form, I guess, to see what information could be obtained, but the clerk called me to give me the good news about my certificates.
I went to Costco for lunch, then met my friend to go walking, but he couldn't go. So I went to the library for 10 minutes and came home early. Scanning was the time-spender this afternoon.
Family Tree Magazine, January 2008 TOC
The latest issue of Family Tree Magazine came this week in the mail.
The Table of Contents includes:
Features
* "Ladies First" by Lisa Alzo - page 22. Use these eight research strategies and nine key sources to trace your female ancestors.
* "Software Test Kitchen" by Allison Stacy - page 30. How does your software compare to the competition? Our test panel's reviews reveal how four popular family tree programs rate with genealogists like you.
* "That's Entertainment" by Lisa Alzo - page 46. Did your ancestor star in theater, vaudeville or even ther circus? Follow these six steps to spotlight performers in your pedigree.
* "Social Climbing" by Rick Crume - page 52. Social networking Web sites are the hottest new trend in online genealogy. Learn what they can do for you - and pick a service that meets your needs - with our guide.
* "Ancestors of the Caribbean" by David Fryxell - page 58. Bring your island heritage ashore with this compilation of tips and resources.
Columns
* "Branching Out" by Diane Haddad - page 10. What's new in discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history.
* "State Research Guides" - page 37. Pullout guides for Alabama and Nevada.
* "The Toolkit" by Allison Stacy - page 74. Reviews and roundups of the latest, greatest family history resources.
You can see more detail on these articles and the department articles at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/jan08.asp. They also have all of the web links mentioned in the magazine as a PDF here.
The software article covered only FamilyTreeMaker, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic and The Master Genealogist. However, they have a web extra with reviews about all 15 programs (10 Windows programs, 5 Mac programs) that were evaluated here. The review for each program goes to a Family Tree Magazine forum article about each piece of software. They did a nice job with this.
I found the "Ladies First" and "Software Test Kitchen" articles to be informative and helpful. If someone has Caribbean ancestry, the "Ancestors of the Caribbean" would be very helpful. I haven't found a circus performer (or worse) in my ancestry and the Social Networking stuff doesn't really excite me yet. Different strokes for different folks, eh?
The Table of Contents includes:
Features
* "Ladies First" by Lisa Alzo - page 22. Use these eight research strategies and nine key sources to trace your female ancestors.
* "Software Test Kitchen" by Allison Stacy - page 30. How does your software compare to the competition? Our test panel's reviews reveal how four popular family tree programs rate with genealogists like you.
* "That's Entertainment" by Lisa Alzo - page 46. Did your ancestor star in theater, vaudeville or even ther circus? Follow these six steps to spotlight performers in your pedigree.
* "Social Climbing" by Rick Crume - page 52. Social networking Web sites are the hottest new trend in online genealogy. Learn what they can do for you - and pick a service that meets your needs - with our guide.
* "Ancestors of the Caribbean" by David Fryxell - page 58. Bring your island heritage ashore with this compilation of tips and resources.
Columns
* "Branching Out" by Diane Haddad - page 10. What's new in discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history.
* "State Research Guides" - page 37. Pullout guides for Alabama and Nevada.
* "The Toolkit" by Allison Stacy - page 74. Reviews and roundups of the latest, greatest family history resources.
You can see more detail on these articles and the department articles at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/jan08.asp. They also have all of the web links mentioned in the magazine as a PDF here.
The software article covered only FamilyTreeMaker, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic and The Master Genealogist. However, they have a web extra with reviews about all 15 programs (10 Windows programs, 5 Mac programs) that were evaluated here. The review for each program goes to a Family Tree Magazine forum article about each piece of software. They did a nice job with this.
I found the "Ladies First" and "Software Test Kitchen" articles to be informative and helpful. If someone has Caribbean ancestry, the "Ancestors of the Caribbean" would be very helpful. I haven't found a circus performer (or worse) in my ancestry and the Social Networking stuff doesn't really excite me yet. Different strokes for different folks, eh?
More Genealogy-related songs
After my semi-futile attempts at writing lyrics that "honor" genealogy and searching for family history, Bill West has written lyrics called "Wests in New England" to Barry Manilow's song "Weekend in New England" music. Great job - I especially love the sound of the National Genealogical Fluteaphone Orchestra!
There are real songs that talk about genealogy, family trees and family history. Some of them include (title and artist, not the lyricist I think):
"Family Tree" by Loretta Lynn
"Let Her Fly" by Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette
"Family Reunion" by the O'Jays
"Here We Are" by Jimmy Buffett
"Heirlooms" by Amy Grant
"Paradise" by John Denver
"I'm the End of the Family Line" by Morrissey.
"In My Family" by Sparks
"Going Home for Christmas" by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Thanksgiving Day" by Ray Davies
"Grandma's Feather Bed" by John Denver
Amazingly, I haven't heard any of these songs, to my knowledge!
The classic song is, of course, "I am My Own Grandpa" which has a YouTube video here.
RootsTelevision.com had a music video two months ago called "Family Tree" by the Crisptones Band - excellent!
I know there are lots more - what are they? I'm limited by my imagination in picking key words. Tell me and I'll add them to the list. Or do like Bill West did, take an existing melody and write your own song - blog about it or put it in comments here. I'll post a list.
There are real songs that talk about genealogy, family trees and family history. Some of them include (title and artist, not the lyricist I think):
"Family Tree" by Loretta Lynn
"Let Her Fly" by Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette
"Family Reunion" by the O'Jays
"Here We Are" by Jimmy Buffett
"Heirlooms" by Amy Grant
"Paradise" by John Denver
"I'm the End of the Family Line" by Morrissey.
"In My Family" by Sparks
"Going Home for Christmas" by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Thanksgiving Day" by Ray Davies
"Grandma's Feather Bed" by John Denver
Amazingly, I haven't heard any of these songs, to my knowledge!
The classic song is, of course, "I am My Own Grandpa" which has a YouTube video here.
RootsTelevision.com had a music video two months ago called "Family Tree" by the Crisptones Band - excellent!
I know there are lots more - what are they? I'm limited by my imagination in picking key words. Tell me and I'll add them to the list. Or do like Bill West did, take an existing melody and write your own song - blog about it or put it in comments here. I'll post a list.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
SDGS Program on 11/10 - DNA Research
The San Diego Genealogical Society meeting is Saturday, 10 November at 12 noon at St. Andrews Lutheran Church located at 8350 Lake Murray Blvd (at Jackson drive) in San Diego. The meeting is in the hall to the north of the parking lot.
The program speaker will be John R. Carpenter on two topics:
12:10 PM: "DNA Research: Haplogroups, Y-DNA and MtDNA"
1:15 PM: "Famous and Other DNA"
The program summary reads:
"Are you using DNA in your family research? Do you know what it can, and can't do, to help you find your ancestors? Come and learn how to take your research into the 21st century.
"Find out about the DNA of some famous and infamous people. See DNA comparisons from ancient to modern times. Are Neanderthal and Humans related? How do Chimpanzees compare? Learn how scientists can extract DNA from scattered and damaged sources."
The speaker profile reads:
"John R. Carpenter has been involved in his ancestral quest for almost 30 years. His fourth great-grandfather, Samuel Carpenter was in the Revolutionary War. He has assisted the SAR in collecting Carpenter research material for the SAR Library. In 2001 he published a Carpenter Family CD of over 88,000 names. A noted lecturer, he recently spoke at the DAR Southern California Conference.
"John became involved in Y-DNA research after a Carpenter Conference in 2002. He is currently involved in Carpenter Family research program with other serious and dedicated researchers. He is the Administrator of the Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project and has written articles on genealogy and on Y-DNA. He is a member of ISOGG - the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. John has four daughters and five grandchildren."
Copied from the San Diego Genealogical Society Newsletter for November 2007.
Note that the SDGS newsletters since April 2004 are on the SDGS web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs/newsletr.html. Peter Steelquist does an excellent job of providing society news and genealogy tips and techniques in this newsletter. I am a member of SDGS.
The program speaker will be John R. Carpenter on two topics:
12:10 PM: "DNA Research: Haplogroups, Y-DNA and MtDNA"
1:15 PM: "Famous and Other DNA"
The program summary reads:
"Are you using DNA in your family research? Do you know what it can, and can't do, to help you find your ancestors? Come and learn how to take your research into the 21st century.
"Find out about the DNA of some famous and infamous people. See DNA comparisons from ancient to modern times. Are Neanderthal and Humans related? How do Chimpanzees compare? Learn how scientists can extract DNA from scattered and damaged sources."
The speaker profile reads:
"John R. Carpenter has been involved in his ancestral quest for almost 30 years. His fourth great-grandfather, Samuel Carpenter was in the Revolutionary War. He has assisted the SAR in collecting Carpenter research material for the SAR Library. In 2001 he published a Carpenter Family CD of over 88,000 names. A noted lecturer, he recently spoke at the DAR Southern California Conference.
"John became involved in Y-DNA research after a Carpenter Conference in 2002. He is currently involved in Carpenter Family research program with other serious and dedicated researchers. He is the Administrator of the Carpenter Cousins Y-DNA Project and has written articles on genealogy and on Y-DNA. He is a member of ISOGG - the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. John has four daughters and five grandchildren."
Copied from the San Diego Genealogical Society Newsletter for November 2007.
Note that the SDGS newsletters since April 2004 are on the SDGS web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs/newsletr.html. Peter Steelquist does an excellent job of providing society news and genealogy tips and techniques in this newsletter. I am a member of SDGS.
The Best Day of My Life
Terry Thornton in his blog post "Photo Challenge" asked his fellow genea-bloggers and H.O.G.S. Bloggers to post one of the "defining" photographs of your life and to explain why you are all dressed up in a costume as an adult.
Being the rather staid fellow that I am, and thankful that there weren't cameras on hand (to my knowledge) when I dressed up as a woman on Hallowe'en one year (well, maybe two), I searched my photo archives for pictures to post.
I decided on this one, taken 21 March 1970, which I consider to be the very best day of my life.
Being the rather staid fellow that I am, and thankful that there weren't cameras on hand (to my knowledge) when I dressed up as a woman on Hallowe'en one year (well, maybe two), I searched my photo archives for pictures to post.
I decided on this one, taken 21 March 1970, which I consider to be the very best day of my life.
You can see why - isn't she beautiful? After 37 years, she still is beautiful, and the most caring, friendly and fun person I know.
To Terry's question: I am dressed this way because this was a traditional church wedding and reception in the church hall.
The five things that I remember well from the day are:
* I left Linda's two-pence coin at the apartment - and it delayed the wedding about 20 minutes for me to go back for it.
* During our vows, the pastor said "Linda, do you take this man as your lawful wedded wife?" and she broke up laughing. I didn't catch it, of course...
* At the reception, when we cut the cake, she smeared cake all over my face. I only got it in her veil.
* When Linda's brother was driving us to the airport, he ran over a box spring on the roadway and the car got stuck. The three guys lifted the car up and dragged it out.
* When we got to the airport near Los Angeles airport, we had a midnight champagne toast in our room. The rest is history!
This certainly was a "defining" moment in my life. From this decision - this time - have flowed home, food, love, happiness, babies, church, vacations, sports, friends, grandchildren, and family history.
There ARE things that happen in a second that take a lifetime to explain!
I'm not using Vista, are you?
I'm still using Microsoft Windows XP - not Windows Vista, or Linux.
Here is a funny (if you're not using Vista, or are not a Microsoft fan) video about using Microsoft Vista - http://blip.tv:80/file/340692.
Warning - don't click if you're offended by the 7 words not used on broadcast media.
If you are a Vista user, I'm interested in how accurate this is!
Here is a funny (if you're not using Vista, or are not a Microsoft fan) video about using Microsoft Vista - http://blip.tv:80/file/340692.
Warning - don't click if you're offended by the 7 words not used on broadcast media.
If you are a Vista user, I'm interested in how accurate this is!
Connecting the Dots
The theory behind "The Mother of All Genealogy Databases" (MOAGD) that was in the news in September was that "everyone will share their genealogy data and be able to connect the dots to earlier generations and create one big database containing all of the families that ever lived."
Two recent emails concerning my Seaver database illustrate both the possibility and improbability of this hoped-for MOAGD.
In the first email, a distant Seaver cousin was excited to find my Seaver family genealogy reports on my web site. He found his great-grandfather listed, and emailed me with data on the later families. I, in turn, made a genealogy report with more information on his Seaver line that included his updated information. In this case, the system worked well - my info helped him, his helped me, we're both pleased with the result. In the ideal world, this is how the MOAGD would work - someone would connect the dots with documented information.
In the second email, my correspondent had seen the Seaver data on my web site but did not find her earliest known Seaver male, Adam Seaver (1811-1889) - an appropriate name, eh? Adam was born in NY, moved to IL and IA, and died in KS. I looked in my Seaver database - but I don't have him included. I have heard of him before from when I was doing my Seaver census collection project. So I checked the Ancestry historical records, family trees and publications/stories. There was one family tree with some information and descendants - created by the person who wrote me. The census records for 1840 to 1880 for Adam Seaver are complete - 6 kids, 2 wives. That matches the family tree data (which probably the same sources). But I still can't place Adam as a child with a set of parents. I looked in the counties where Adam Seaver lived, especially in New York, but did not find any other families with the Seaver (and variants?) surname in the 1840 and earlier censuses. I input Adam and his family data into my Seaver database so that I have it available next time someone asks. It's a brick wall for now.
The only way the "parents of Adam Seaver" problem will be solved is if there are land, tax, or probate records in the places he resided that identify his parents, siblings, or his previous location. The state of online genealogy does not include records like these yet. They might in the future - when the LDS digitizes and indexes these records. The only way for my correspondent to "connect the dots" in this case is to find the pertinent records, if they exist, on LDS microfilm or in courthouse files.
By the way, Adam's wives names were Nancy and Louisa. Adam has a long list of descendants who are proud of their ancestor's life and accomplishments. Unfortunately, Adam's parentage and ancestral lines have not been found yet.
This last example shows the problem with the MOAGD concept - a significant number of ancestral lines have this "connecting the dots" problem - the evidence is hiding in unindexed and hard to find records. Even with exhaustive searching in repositories for all records, many "brick wall" genealogy problems are not solved because there is not enough information, or there are conflicts between different records. My educated guess is that perhaps 40 to 60% of all ancestral lines end up like this - a person born in the 1770-1840 time frame with as-yet unknown parents.
What say you? Is the MOAGD possible?
Two recent emails concerning my Seaver database illustrate both the possibility and improbability of this hoped-for MOAGD.
In the first email, a distant Seaver cousin was excited to find my Seaver family genealogy reports on my web site. He found his great-grandfather listed, and emailed me with data on the later families. I, in turn, made a genealogy report with more information on his Seaver line that included his updated information. In this case, the system worked well - my info helped him, his helped me, we're both pleased with the result. In the ideal world, this is how the MOAGD would work - someone would connect the dots with documented information.
In the second email, my correspondent had seen the Seaver data on my web site but did not find her earliest known Seaver male, Adam Seaver (1811-1889) - an appropriate name, eh? Adam was born in NY, moved to IL and IA, and died in KS. I looked in my Seaver database - but I don't have him included. I have heard of him before from when I was doing my Seaver census collection project. So I checked the Ancestry historical records, family trees and publications/stories. There was one family tree with some information and descendants - created by the person who wrote me. The census records for 1840 to 1880 for Adam Seaver are complete - 6 kids, 2 wives. That matches the family tree data (which probably the same sources). But I still can't place Adam as a child with a set of parents. I looked in the counties where Adam Seaver lived, especially in New York, but did not find any other families with the Seaver (and variants?) surname in the 1840 and earlier censuses. I input Adam and his family data into my Seaver database so that I have it available next time someone asks. It's a brick wall for now.
The only way the "parents of Adam Seaver" problem will be solved is if there are land, tax, or probate records in the places he resided that identify his parents, siblings, or his previous location. The state of online genealogy does not include records like these yet. They might in the future - when the LDS digitizes and indexes these records. The only way for my correspondent to "connect the dots" in this case is to find the pertinent records, if they exist, on LDS microfilm or in courthouse files.
By the way, Adam's wives names were Nancy and Louisa. Adam has a long list of descendants who are proud of their ancestor's life and accomplishments. Unfortunately, Adam's parentage and ancestral lines have not been found yet.
This last example shows the problem with the MOAGD concept - a significant number of ancestral lines have this "connecting the dots" problem - the evidence is hiding in unindexed and hard to find records. Even with exhaustive searching in repositories for all records, many "brick wall" genealogy problems are not solved because there is not enough information, or there are conflicts between different records. My educated guess is that perhaps 40 to 60% of all ancestral lines end up like this - a person born in the 1770-1840 time frame with as-yet unknown parents.
What say you? Is the MOAGD possible?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
"Searching" by Randy
SEARCHING
Lyrcs by Randy Seaver
(sung to the tune of "Searchin'" by the Coasters (1958))
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, un-huh,
Searching all my ti-ime a-way.
Looking for Thomas J. Newton,
I know I'll find him some day.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, uh-huh,
Searching my time a-way.
Looking for Elizabeth Dill,
I know I'll find her some day.
If I have to walk a graveyard,
You know I will.
If I have to storm a library,
You know I will.
And if she's hiding up on Beacon Hill
I'm really gonna find her,
I just know I will.
Cause I've been searching,
Oh yeah, searching,
Searching my time away.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
Elizabeth Shown Mills and
Arlene Eakle got nothing on me,
Christine Rose, Dick Eastman
And Megan Smolenyak, you see.
They can't find them either,
But I'm searching my life a-way.
I've been searching,
Searching all my time a-way.
I'm looking for William Knapp,
I know I'll find him some day.
I'm searching,
Oh yeah, searching.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, uh-huh,
Searching my time a-way.
I'm looking for Cornelia Bresee,
I know I'll find her some day.
No matter where they're hiding,
They'll see me coming down the street.
Looking for all my Ancestors
Still hiding well from me.
I'm still searching,
Oh Lord, searching,
Searching my time away.
Yeah, Yeah.
But I'm like those genealogists,
who look in every place,
Trying to find records
It's a very long race.
I'm searching, uh-huh,
Searching my life away.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
Really? When? Where? How?
Oh baby, you know what I want.
The words in parentheses are background singers. The lyrics don't match the music exactly, but what the heck. You get the idea. I wish I could sing. We could have a ball at a conference singing genealogy lyrics to old rock songs, eh?
Lyrcs by Randy Seaver
(sung to the tune of "Searchin'" by the Coasters (1958))
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, un-huh,
Searching all my ti-ime a-way.
Looking for Thomas J. Newton,
I know I'll find him some day.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, uh-huh,
Searching my time a-way.
Looking for Elizabeth Dill,
I know I'll find her some day.
If I have to walk a graveyard,
You know I will.
If I have to storm a library,
You know I will.
And if she's hiding up on Beacon Hill
I'm really gonna find her,
I just know I will.
Cause I've been searching,
Oh yeah, searching,
Searching my time away.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
Elizabeth Shown Mills and
Arlene Eakle got nothing on me,
Christine Rose, Dick Eastman
And Megan Smolenyak, you see.
They can't find them either,
But I'm searching my life a-way.
I've been searching,
Searching all my time a-way.
I'm looking for William Knapp,
I know I'll find him some day.
I'm searching,
Oh yeah, searching.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
I've been searching, uh-huh,
Searching my time a-way.
I'm looking for Cornelia Bresee,
I know I'll find her some day.
No matter where they're hiding,
They'll see me coming down the street.
Looking for all my Ancestors
Still hiding well from me.
I'm still searching,
Oh Lord, searching,
Searching my time away.
Yeah, Yeah.
But I'm like those genealogists,
who look in every place,
Trying to find records
It's a very long race.
I'm searching, uh-huh,
Searching my life away.
(Gonna find 'em,)
(Gonna find 'em.)
Really? When? Where? How?
Oh baby, you know what I want.
The words in parentheses are background singers. The lyrics don't match the music exactly, but what the heck. You get the idea. I wish I could sing. We could have a ball at a conference singing genealogy lyrics to old rock songs, eh?
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