If you don't want to go to all the trouble of tracing your own ancestry using online and traditional research techniques, just have someone do it for you.
Greg Wayland, a New England Cable Network (NECN) reporter, went to the New England Historic Genealogical Society to get help - and got a tour from CEO Brenton Simons and a lot of help from Michael LeClerc of the NEHGS staff. The result is a 5 minute, 44 second video story titled "Tracing Ancestry with Genealogists" shown on NECN. The link to the story is here.
I thought that this video was extremely well done - tying Wayland to his great-grandparents using records and gravestones. It touched on New England resources, a Nova Scotia ancestor, and an Irish immigrant family. The mix of short video with photographs and voice-overs was very effective. It is sure to bring some new researchers to the NEHGS door in Boston. Everybody wins here - NECN gets a public interest story, and NEHGS gets some good publicity.
We need more video stories like this on local television all across the country. Our societies would really benefit from something like this shown on PBS or local cable stations.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Finding out exactly where they lived
One of the tasks I like to pursue is to try to find out exactly where my ancestors lived at moments of time. To do this, you need maps that show houses or farms or shops. One question I've always had is "do the maps that show houses show every building, or just selected buildings?"
I noticed that Ancestry.com is featuring their "Historic Land Ownership and Reference Atlases, 1507-2000" collection of maps, which includes maps with homes or farms shown on them. I picked Killingly in Windham County, Connecticut because I thought I knew where my Henry A. White family lived and where my Jonathan Oatley lived in East Killingly. Ancestry has an 1869 map of Killingly, and an inset map of East Killingly showing much more detail.
I chose the 1870 census to compare to the 1869 map. When I input Henry White, I found him on the census on page 115 of (Post Office) West Killingly, not East Killingly. I looked on the map for a West Killingly and didn't find it. So I checked for Jonathan Oatley, and found him on the census - he was on page 122 of (Post Office) West Killingly. Strange - they both should be in East Killingly. I decided to check the neighbors, and in the process found out several things -
1) There are a lot more houses enumerated in the census than there are on the maps. There were at most three or four houses that showed on the map that were enumerated on the same census page, and some census pages had no houses shown on the map.
2) The census taker did not write the family information down in the exact order of house location. I don't know what method they used, but it wasn't house to neighbor house in every case. Did they make rough notes from their walk-abouts, and then fill out the census form later from the notes?
3) The census taker erred in this location - the Post Office had to be East Killingly because all of the people on the 1869 map in East Killingly are on the West Killingly PO census list. I wonder how many other errors there are for Post Office or town name?
As an example of comparing houses on the map with a census page, on page 122 of this census (NARA Film M593, Roll 116, page 445, Image 323), the houses on the page are headed by:
# 725 Joseph Oatly (on the map) - household includes Jonathan Oatly
# 726 Elliot Burton (on the map)
# 727 Franklin Burton
# 728 Harris O. Burton
# 729 Ruel Cole
# 730 John Russell 2nd (on map)
# 731 David D. Chase
# 732 Elisha Soule
# 733 Lydia Mitchell (probably the Mrs. Mitchell on the map)
# 734 Alfred E. Adams
So there are four houses from this page on the map. But I don't know if the houses were enumerated in order, do I? About all I can be sure of is that not every person on the census is shown on the map.
My Henry A. White was not on the map, but his brother John White, who was listed just below Henry on page 115, was shown - right there on the road towards Killingly Center on the north side of the road, just three houses from Dr. E.A. Hill (page 116) and five houses from Rev. Daniel Williams (page 116). So I think I know about where Henry A. White lived in 1870 - between Dr. Hill and John White. On the map, it measures about 20 rods between John White and Dr. Hill - about 330 feet - essentially the length of a football field.
My Jonathan Oatley was age 79, and living with his eldest surviving son, Joseph H. Oatley in East Killingly in the 1870 census. J. Oatley's house is shown on the 1869 map about 18 rods south of the main east-west road through East Killingly, on the east side of the road that leads toward Foster RI to the east. Wm. Oatley's house is also shown two houses closer to the main east-west road.
My best guess is that Jonathan Oatley is living in the house he built or bought back in the 1830's when he first came to Killingly to pastor the Baptist Church. Now I know where it was in 1869.
I was surprised to find both of these families in "town" - I thought that they both lived to the north of the East Killingly center on the road toward East Putnam near the border with Rhode Island. They may have lived there earlier, but there maps are not available for the earlier period.
I learned the three things listed above from this exercise, and also learned the probably location of the White and Oatley homes in the 1870 time period.
I wonder if these houses are still there? I will try to find out - it's another good reason to go to New England on vacation again!
Have you tried to find the locations of your ancestor's homes using these maps? Did you find them? I'm going to go look for more later.
I noticed that Ancestry.com is featuring their "Historic Land Ownership and Reference Atlases, 1507-2000" collection of maps, which includes maps with homes or farms shown on them. I picked Killingly in Windham County, Connecticut because I thought I knew where my Henry A. White family lived and where my Jonathan Oatley lived in East Killingly. Ancestry has an 1869 map of Killingly, and an inset map of East Killingly showing much more detail.
I chose the 1870 census to compare to the 1869 map. When I input Henry White, I found him on the census on page 115 of (Post Office) West Killingly, not East Killingly. I looked on the map for a West Killingly and didn't find it. So I checked for Jonathan Oatley, and found him on the census - he was on page 122 of (Post Office) West Killingly. Strange - they both should be in East Killingly. I decided to check the neighbors, and in the process found out several things -
1) There are a lot more houses enumerated in the census than there are on the maps. There were at most three or four houses that showed on the map that were enumerated on the same census page, and some census pages had no houses shown on the map.
2) The census taker did not write the family information down in the exact order of house location. I don't know what method they used, but it wasn't house to neighbor house in every case. Did they make rough notes from their walk-abouts, and then fill out the census form later from the notes?
3) The census taker erred in this location - the Post Office had to be East Killingly because all of the people on the 1869 map in East Killingly are on the West Killingly PO census list. I wonder how many other errors there are for Post Office or town name?
As an example of comparing houses on the map with a census page, on page 122 of this census (NARA Film M593, Roll 116, page 445, Image 323), the houses on the page are headed by:
# 725 Joseph Oatly (on the map) - household includes Jonathan Oatly
# 726 Elliot Burton (on the map)
# 727 Franklin Burton
# 728 Harris O. Burton
# 729 Ruel Cole
# 730 John Russell 2nd (on map)
# 731 David D. Chase
# 732 Elisha Soule
# 733 Lydia Mitchell (probably the Mrs. Mitchell on the map)
# 734 Alfred E. Adams
So there are four houses from this page on the map. But I don't know if the houses were enumerated in order, do I? About all I can be sure of is that not every person on the census is shown on the map.
My Henry A. White was not on the map, but his brother John White, who was listed just below Henry on page 115, was shown - right there on the road towards Killingly Center on the north side of the road, just three houses from Dr. E.A. Hill (page 116) and five houses from Rev. Daniel Williams (page 116). So I think I know about where Henry A. White lived in 1870 - between Dr. Hill and John White. On the map, it measures about 20 rods between John White and Dr. Hill - about 330 feet - essentially the length of a football field.
My Jonathan Oatley was age 79, and living with his eldest surviving son, Joseph H. Oatley in East Killingly in the 1870 census. J. Oatley's house is shown on the 1869 map about 18 rods south of the main east-west road through East Killingly, on the east side of the road that leads toward Foster RI to the east. Wm. Oatley's house is also shown two houses closer to the main east-west road.
My best guess is that Jonathan Oatley is living in the house he built or bought back in the 1830's when he first came to Killingly to pastor the Baptist Church. Now I know where it was in 1869.
I was surprised to find both of these families in "town" - I thought that they both lived to the north of the East Killingly center on the road toward East Putnam near the border with Rhode Island. They may have lived there earlier, but there maps are not available for the earlier period.
I learned the three things listed above from this exercise, and also learned the probably location of the White and Oatley homes in the 1870 time period.
I wonder if these houses are still there? I will try to find out - it's another good reason to go to New England on vacation again!
Have you tried to find the locations of your ancestor's homes using these maps? Did you find them? I'm going to go look for more later.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Cousinhood to Mitt Romney
In my unending quest to find cousin relationships with famous people, I went searching for my connection to Republican candidate for President, Mitt Romney. I found that I'm probably an 9th cousin once removed to him.
Our Most Recent Common Ancestors are probably Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne (yes, the Rebecca Nurse hanged as a witch in 1692 in Salem). Here is the descent from them (with ahnentafel numbers and information from here):
1. 1954 Francis Nurse (????-1695) m. 1644 Rebecca Towne (????-1692)
2. 977 Elizabeth Nurse (1665-????) m. 1678 William Russell (1655-1744)
3. 488 Ebenezer Russell (1688-1762) m. 1710 Deborah Hubbard (1687-????)
4. 244 Ellis Russell (1730-????) m. 1751 Joanna Wolcott (1733-????)
5. 122 Oliver Russell (1777-????) m. 1794 Nancy Newton (1779-????)
6. 61 Nancy Russell (1799-1889) m. 1815 Robert Berry (1783-1847)
7. 30 Robert Berry (1823-1905) m. 1842 Elnora Warner (1822-1865)
8. 15 Rosetta Mary Berry (1843-1918) m. 1865 Charles Edward Robison (1845-1883)
9 7 Alma Luella Robison (1882-1938) m. 1903 Harold Arundel LaFount (1880-1952)
10 3 Lenore LaFount (1908-1998) m. 1931 George Wilcken Romney (1907-1995)
11 Willard "Mitt" Romney (1947- )
My line from Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne is:
1. 2394 Francis Nurse (1618-1695) m. 1644 Rebecca Towne (1621-1692)
2. 1197 Sarah Nurse (1648-????) m. 1669 Michael Bowden (1651-1740)
3. 598 Michael Bowden (1673-1741) m. 1697 Sarah Davis (1676-1754)
4. 299 Mary Bowden (1705-????) m. 1726 Michael Bowden (1703-1748)
5. 149 Mary Richards (1733-????) and Isaac Buck (ca1730-????)
6. 74 Isaac Buck (1757-1846) m. 1780 Martha Phillips (1757-1820)
7. 37 Sophia Buck (1797-1882) m. ca 1833 Thomas J. Newton (????-????)
8. 18 Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) m. 1852 Sophia Newton (1834-1923)
9. 9 Hattie L. Hildreth (1857-1920) m. 1874Frank W. Seaver (1852-1922)
10. 4 Frederick W. Seaver (1876-1940) m. 1900 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
11. 2 Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983) m. 1942 Betty V. Carringer (1919-2002)
12. 1 Randall J. Seaver (1943- )
So in this line I am the 9th cousin once removed to Mitt Romney.
There are several other New England colonial families that we share; the common immigrant ancestors include (ahnentafel numbers from here)
1952 William Russell and Martha --?--
3920 William Towne and Joanna Blessing
and probably others in later generations
Do you think that if Mitt Romney becomes President, that he will consult with me, or even acknowledge our distant relationship? If he does take the office, I'm going to write him and tell him that I am at his genealogical service. He'll probably pick someone more known than me, but maybe he will give me some consideration.
Do you have a connection to Mitt Romney? What about any of the other Presidential candidates?
Our Most Recent Common Ancestors are probably Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne (yes, the Rebecca Nurse hanged as a witch in 1692 in Salem). Here is the descent from them (with ahnentafel numbers and information from here):
1. 1954 Francis Nurse (????-1695) m. 1644 Rebecca Towne (????-1692)
2. 977 Elizabeth Nurse (1665-????) m. 1678 William Russell (1655-1744)
3. 488 Ebenezer Russell (1688-1762) m. 1710 Deborah Hubbard (1687-????)
4. 244 Ellis Russell (1730-????) m. 1751 Joanna Wolcott (1733-????)
5. 122 Oliver Russell (1777-????) m. 1794 Nancy Newton (1779-????)
6. 61 Nancy Russell (1799-1889) m. 1815 Robert Berry (1783-1847)
7. 30 Robert Berry (1823-1905) m. 1842 Elnora Warner (1822-1865)
8. 15 Rosetta Mary Berry (1843-1918) m. 1865 Charles Edward Robison (1845-1883)
9 7 Alma Luella Robison (1882-1938) m. 1903 Harold Arundel LaFount (1880-1952)
10 3 Lenore LaFount (1908-1998) m. 1931 George Wilcken Romney (1907-1995)
11 Willard "Mitt" Romney (1947- )
My line from Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne is:
1. 2394 Francis Nurse (1618-1695) m. 1644 Rebecca Towne (1621-1692)
2. 1197 Sarah Nurse (1648-????) m. 1669 Michael Bowden (1651-1740)
3. 598 Michael Bowden (1673-1741) m. 1697 Sarah Davis (1676-1754)
4. 299 Mary Bowden (1705-????) m. 1726 Michael Bowden (1703-1748)
5. 149 Mary Richards (1733-????) and Isaac Buck (ca1730-????)
6. 74 Isaac Buck (1757-1846) m. 1780 Martha Phillips (1757-1820)
7. 37 Sophia Buck (1797-1882) m. ca 1833 Thomas J. Newton (????-????)
8. 18 Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) m. 1852 Sophia Newton (1834-1923)
9. 9 Hattie L. Hildreth (1857-1920) m. 1874Frank W. Seaver (1852-1922)
10. 4 Frederick W. Seaver (1876-1940) m. 1900 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
11. 2 Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983) m. 1942 Betty V. Carringer (1919-2002)
12. 1 Randall J. Seaver (1943- )
So in this line I am the 9th cousin once removed to Mitt Romney.
There are several other New England colonial families that we share; the common immigrant ancestors include (ahnentafel numbers from here)
1952 William Russell and Martha --?--
3920 William Towne and Joanna Blessing
and probably others in later generations
Do you think that if Mitt Romney becomes President, that he will consult with me, or even acknowledge our distant relationship? If he does take the office, I'm going to write him and tell him that I am at his genealogical service. He'll probably pick someone more known than me, but maybe he will give me some consideration.
Do you have a connection to Mitt Romney? What about any of the other Presidential candidates?
Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver (1882-1962)
Alma Bessie Richmond was born on 16 February 1882 in Killingly, Connecticut, the seventh child and fourth daughter of Thomas and Julia (White) Richmond. The family was active in the Episcopal Church in Killingly and Putnam, and had a rich musical tradition and abilities. The Thomas Richmond family moved to Leominster, Massachusetts before 1895. Her father was a foreman in a textile mill, first in Burrilville, Rhode Island, then in Putnam, Connecticut and finally in Leominster, Massachusetts.
She married Frederick Walton Seaver on 21 June 1900 in Leominster, Massachusetts. They had seven children - Marion born in 1901, Evelyn born in 1903, Stanley born in 1905 and died in 1910, Ruth born in 1907, Frederick born in 1911, Edward born in 1913 and Geraldine born in 1917.
Bess had exceptional musical talent, and was taught by her father, who was a choir director and tenor singer, and her mother, who was an organist, piano player and alto singer. As a pianist, she played very difficult pieces, especially Chopin, her favorite composer. After taking organ lessons, she played the church organ as a teenage girl at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Leominster for several years before her wedding in 1900. After her marriage, she stopped playing the organ because of family responsibilities (seven babies in 17 years). In about 1923, she again was organist at St. Marks until 1941 when her husband was ill.
She married Frederick Walton Seaver on 21 June 1900 in Leominster, Massachusetts. They had seven children - Marion born in 1901, Evelyn born in 1903, Stanley born in 1905 and died in 1910, Ruth born in 1907, Frederick born in 1911, Edward born in 1913 and Geraldine born in 1917.Bess had exceptional musical talent, and was taught by her father, who was a choir director and tenor singer, and her mother, who was an organist, piano player and alto singer. As a pianist, she played very difficult pieces, especially Chopin, her favorite composer. After taking organ lessons, she played the church organ as a teenage girl at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Leominster for several years before her wedding in 1900. After her marriage, she stopped playing the organ because of family responsibilities (seven babies in 17 years). In about 1923, she again was organist at St. Marks until 1941 when her husband was ill.
After his death, Bess moved with her daughter Geraldine to Northampton for a time. After about two years, she moved back to an apartment in Leominster to be nearer family and friends, and took jobs as music director and organist at a Methodist church in Fitchburg and as the organist at the Episcopal church in Whalom. Gerry says "She played music instinctively... she memorized so quickly that she could play one thing after the other without any music in front of her because she'd memorized it."
Gerry also says "...her life was pretty hectic trying to take care of all those kids. The thing that saved her was the fact that she had the piano. She would go to that piano right after dinner, I remember very well. She would go religiously, and leave the dishes for the girls, and sit down and play the piano for at least two hours, sometimes longer... many a night I have gone to bed and listened to the strains of Chopin coming from downstairs..."
Her son, Edward Seaver, described his mother: "My mother was a very beautiful woman, my early memories of her were with beautiful black hair with a swatch of white coming right up the middle. I used to love to watch her sitting at the vanity combing her hair. She was a very nice looking woman. As the family grew up and expanded and the grandchildren started to come, she just adored every one of them, and they, in turn, thought the world of her. She was always attentive to the children, always listening to their problems"
Bess and her daughter Geraldine traveled by train to San Diego, California in July 1942 to attend the wedding of her son, Frederick Seaver. In 1959, Bess accompanied Walter and Evelyn (Seaver) Wood to California, driving from and back to New England. This was the only time that Bess saw her three California grandsons.
Bess died of gall bladder cancer on 29 June 1962 in Leominster, Massachusetts. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster with her husband and young son, Stanley.
"Heirloom Discovery Day" at CVGS on 11/26
The next Chula Vista Genealogical Society program will be on Monday, 26 November 2007 at 10 a.m. in the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) auditorium.
The program will be an "Heirloom Discovery Day" - a show and tell of family heirlooms brought and described by their owners and then evaluated by Georgie Stillman, a professional heirloom appraiser who lives and works in Chula Vista. These will not be professional level appraisals at this meeting - Georgie will provide an estimated value and briefly comment on the origin of the piece.
Georgie Stillman is a Senior member of the American Society of Appraisers, past President of the San Diego Chapter, and Founding Director of the International Society of Appraisers, having held many offices in each. Her expertise is in evaluating and appraising silver, China, glass ware, furniture, artworks, quilts and samplers,many dolls and other collectibles. She does not appraise pre-1830 Chinese or Oriental pieces, Oriental carpets, antiquities, jewelry with gemstones (costume jewelry is fine), coins or stamps.
We had an immediate sign-up for this program once it was announced - 15 members will share their treasures and hope to learn something about them. The audience will admire the heirlooms and Georgie's skill in talking about them. We had Georgie do this same type of program in 2005 and it was very popular and fun - one of the best responses we've had.
There will be a short business meeting before the main feature. Please enter the auditorium through the Conference Room so that you can sign in, buy a raffle ticket, pick up handouts and have a snack.
This program should be of interest to genealogists, family historians, and antique collectors. We welcome guests and visitors to all of our meetings.
The program will be an "Heirloom Discovery Day" - a show and tell of family heirlooms brought and described by their owners and then evaluated by Georgie Stillman, a professional heirloom appraiser who lives and works in Chula Vista. These will not be professional level appraisals at this meeting - Georgie will provide an estimated value and briefly comment on the origin of the piece.
Georgie Stillman is a Senior member of the American Society of Appraisers, past President of the San Diego Chapter, and Founding Director of the International Society of Appraisers, having held many offices in each. Her expertise is in evaluating and appraising silver, China, glass ware, furniture, artworks, quilts and samplers,many dolls and other collectibles. She does not appraise pre-1830 Chinese or Oriental pieces, Oriental carpets, antiquities, jewelry with gemstones (costume jewelry is fine), coins or stamps.
We had an immediate sign-up for this program once it was announced - 15 members will share their treasures and hope to learn something about them. The audience will admire the heirlooms and Georgie's skill in talking about them. We had Georgie do this same type of program in 2005 and it was very popular and fun - one of the best responses we've had.
There will be a short business meeting before the main feature. Please enter the auditorium through the Conference Room so that you can sign in, buy a raffle ticket, pick up handouts and have a snack.
This program should be of interest to genealogists, family historians, and antique collectors. We welcome guests and visitors to all of our meetings.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Pilgrim's Thanksgiving in 1621
The traditional "First Thanksgiving" in North America has always been the one in Plymouth in 1621 celebrated by the "Pilgrims" who came from England and Holland in 1620. There were earlier celebrations, as David Bowles and others have pointed out.
Caleb Johnson has an excellent summary of the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 at http://members.aol.com/calebj/thanksgiving.html. On his radio program today, Dennis Prager read Edward Winslow's letter, written 12 December 1621, describing the first celebration in Plymouth:
"Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.
"They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
Caleb Johnson has an excellent summary of the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 at http://members.aol.com/calebj/thanksgiving.html. On his radio program today, Dennis Prager read Edward Winslow's letter, written 12 December 1621, describing the first celebration in Plymouth:
"Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.
"They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
The second description was in the history Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford written in about 1641:
"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercising in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports."
Caleb Johnson's page has a list of the foods probably eaten at the first Plymouth Thanksgiving. Contrast the variety of the foods available to them at the time with what we eat at our Thanksgiving celebrations today.
Today I thought about the hardships that these hardy Plymouth settlers endured to travel to North America and to survive the first winter. I had at least six ancestors at this first Plymouth Thanksgiving:
* Susanna (--?--) (White) Winslow (ca 1590-1680?)
* Peregrine White (1620-1704)
* George Soule (1593-1669)
* Richard Warren (ca 1580-1628)
* Francis Cooke (1583-1663)
* John Cooke (1607-1695)
I am very thankful for their courage and sacrifice, and for their good example of sharing a feast with Massasoit and his people.
"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercising in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports."
Caleb Johnson's page has a list of the foods probably eaten at the first Plymouth Thanksgiving. Contrast the variety of the foods available to them at the time with what we eat at our Thanksgiving celebrations today.
Today I thought about the hardships that these hardy Plymouth settlers endured to travel to North America and to survive the first winter. I had at least six ancestors at this first Plymouth Thanksgiving:
* Susanna (--?--) (White) Winslow (ca 1590-1680?)
* Peregrine White (1620-1704)
* George Soule (1593-1669)
* Richard Warren (ca 1580-1628)
* Francis Cooke (1583-1663)
* John Cooke (1607-1695)
I am very thankful for their courage and sacrifice, and for their good example of sharing a feast with Massasoit and his people.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving
by Edgar Albert Guest (c) 1917
Gettin' together to smile an' rejoice,
An' eatin' an' laughin' with folks of your choice;
An' kissin' the girls an' declarin' that they
Are growin' more beautiful day after day;
Chattin' an' braggin' a bit with the men,
Buildin' the old family circle again;
Livin' the wholesome an' old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.
Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother's a little bit grayer, that's all.
Father's a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an' to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin' our stories as women an' men.
Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we're grateful an' glad to be there.
Home from the east land an' home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an' best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We've come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an' be frank,
Forgettin' position an' station an' rank.
Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.
Amen!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
I Am So Thankful
--- for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
--- for my wonderful loving wife, Angel Linda, who makes every day special.
--- for my two beautiful and smart daughters, and their great husbands, who work so hard to do so well in order to live securely.
--- for my three precious grandchildren, so innocent and with so much potential, and so much fun to be with. And for the fourth one on the way.
--- for my enthusiastic father, who provided a large New England ancestry to research and an undying love for the game of baseball.
--- for my loving mother, so patient, loving and kind, whose ancestry provides such challenges.
--- for my brothers, their wives and children, who are interested in the family history.
--- for my grandparents and earlier ancestors, who worked hard, played by the rules, raised healthy families, and provided a firm foundation for their children.
--- for my aunts, uncles and cousins, who opened their homes and their hearts and shared their memories.
--- for my genealogy society colleagues and fellow genea-bloggers who encourage and appreciate me.
--- for the brave passengers on the Mayflower and other early ships who colonized New England, and instilled a republican form of government based on personal freedom and responsibility.
--- for the courageous citizens who revolted to secure our freedoms, and created the institutions that are the foundations of the USA.
--- for the soldiers, sailors and pilots, of every historical time, who have defended our country and kept us safe and free.
--- for the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights - especially the freedoms of speech, religion and assembly. I am awestruck that the Founders wrote such a magnificent set of documents that have stood the test of time.
--- for educational opportunities, whereby every and any person in this country can be the best that they can be, but they have to really make an effort.
--- for the free market and free enterprise economic system that encourages and rewards work and innovation, and has allowed me and my family to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
--- for the marvels of science and engineering, that drive our health, transportation, communication and entertainment industries.
--- for the wonders of nature that beautify our world, inspire us and occasionally overwhelm us.
What are you thankful for on this 145th Thanksgiving holiday?
--- for my wonderful loving wife, Angel Linda, who makes every day special.
--- for my two beautiful and smart daughters, and their great husbands, who work so hard to do so well in order to live securely.
--- for my three precious grandchildren, so innocent and with so much potential, and so much fun to be with. And for the fourth one on the way.
--- for my enthusiastic father, who provided a large New England ancestry to research and an undying love for the game of baseball.
--- for my loving mother, so patient, loving and kind, whose ancestry provides such challenges.
--- for my brothers, their wives and children, who are interested in the family history.
--- for my grandparents and earlier ancestors, who worked hard, played by the rules, raised healthy families, and provided a firm foundation for their children.
--- for my aunts, uncles and cousins, who opened their homes and their hearts and shared their memories.
--- for my genealogy society colleagues and fellow genea-bloggers who encourage and appreciate me.
--- for the brave passengers on the Mayflower and other early ships who colonized New England, and instilled a republican form of government based on personal freedom and responsibility.
--- for the courageous citizens who revolted to secure our freedoms, and created the institutions that are the foundations of the USA.
--- for the soldiers, sailors and pilots, of every historical time, who have defended our country and kept us safe and free.
--- for the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights - especially the freedoms of speech, religion and assembly. I am awestruck that the Founders wrote such a magnificent set of documents that have stood the test of time.
--- for educational opportunities, whereby every and any person in this country can be the best that they can be, but they have to really make an effort.
--- for the free market and free enterprise economic system that encourages and rewards work and innovation, and has allowed me and my family to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
--- for the marvels of science and engineering, that drive our health, transportation, communication and entertainment industries.
--- for the wonders of nature that beautify our world, inspire us and occasionally overwhelm us.
What are you thankful for on this 145th Thanksgiving holiday?
CVGS Computer Group Meeting today
The monthly Genealogy Computer Group meeting for the Chula Vista Genealogical Society was held in the Computer Lab at the Library today. We had 16 attendees, which were more than the 12 available computer stations, so several of us floated and had other things to do.
It took some time for Gary to get the projector and computer station hooked up - it was a computer cable problem. While he got that working, I tried to access Ancestry Library Edition and failed - the Library IT people had moved the Online Databases page to some place we could not find. Shirley went to ask the IT people about it.
Everybody could get on the Internet, so I asked them to go to www.Ancestry.com and showed them how to get to the three Webinar videos at home (click on the "Help" link on the home page, then the "Webinar" tab on the Help page) and also how to use the Ancestry Learning Center (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/). The Learning Center has thousands of "how-to" articles concerning genealogy research and are an excellent free resource of information.
Shirley came back and led the group through a number of places on www.Rootsweb.com - including the Freepages, the Message Boards, Mailing Lists, Town and County templates, etc.
I helped one of our new members find information about church records in Mexico using the LDS databases and the Family History Library Catalog. I also told him about ordering microfilms at the Family History Center. We found out that there is a monthly Hispanic Genealogy Group that meets at the FHC, and showed him the contact information.
After the meeting, I met briefly with the IT person and separately with the Branch Manager in order to sort out how we can be assured of access to Ancestry Library Edition. They volunteered to install a shortcut on the Computer Lab screens that go right to the Library Databases. Hopefully, this will solve our access problems and reduce our frustrations.
It took some time for Gary to get the projector and computer station hooked up - it was a computer cable problem. While he got that working, I tried to access Ancestry Library Edition and failed - the Library IT people had moved the Online Databases page to some place we could not find. Shirley went to ask the IT people about it.
Everybody could get on the Internet, so I asked them to go to www.Ancestry.com and showed them how to get to the three Webinar videos at home (click on the "Help" link on the home page, then the "Webinar" tab on the Help page) and also how to use the Ancestry Learning Center (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/). The Learning Center has thousands of "how-to" articles concerning genealogy research and are an excellent free resource of information.
Shirley came back and led the group through a number of places on www.Rootsweb.com - including the Freepages, the Message Boards, Mailing Lists, Town and County templates, etc.
I helped one of our new members find information about church records in Mexico using the LDS databases and the Family History Library Catalog. I also told him about ordering microfilms at the Family History Center. We found out that there is a monthly Hispanic Genealogy Group that meets at the FHC, and showed him the contact information.
After the meeting, I met briefly with the IT person and separately with the Branch Manager in order to sort out how we can be assured of access to Ancestry Library Edition. They volunteered to install a shortcut on the Computer Lab screens that go right to the Library Databases. Hopefully, this will solve our access problems and reduce our frustrations.
Finding records for living persons
In her presentation "Digging Up the Un-Dead" last month for CVGS, Joan Lowrey gave some practical advice for finding living people using online resources. She briefly mentioned online databases for City or County court, probate and land records.
For San Diego County, the County Recorder and Assessor office provides minimal property information online. For land records, the web site is http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx. You can use the Search box (use last name first) to find the type of transactions (e.g., trust deeds, deeds, reconveyances, notices to creditors, tax liens, etc) and document numbers for property transactions. With the document number, you can order the document for a fee.
For probate records, the San Diego County Probate Court web site is here. On this page, put "Court Index" in the right hand search box and then select a "Party Name Search." If you input a surname, you get a list of the Probate Court cases on file between 1974 and 2007. Clicking on the Probate Case number gives you some information about the case - the type of case, the case category, the date filed, and the case file location. There is a link that tells you the physical location of the case file. In San Diego, most of them are in the Madge Bradley Building at 1401 4th Avenue in downtown San Diego.
Civil, criminal and domestic court records can also be found at the San Diego County Court web site. You get essentially the same information as for a probate case. The records are stored in a different location than the probate court records.
But you can find more information about property records by going to one of the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk locations - there are five locations in the county (downtown San Diego, Kearny Mesa, Chula Vista, El Cajon and San Marcos). The offices permit public access to computers with several databases on them. For instance, there is an index of current property owners and the tax assessments on those properties. By inputting a surname, or a surname and given name, you can find the properties they own, the property assessment value, the tax assessment, and a mailing address for the owner. You can also input a street address or a property identification number. This database is fairly difficult to use because it is function key driven, not mouse driven. But it is extremely useful.
The Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offices also have an index of San Diego county marriages from about 1960 to 2007. The information is sparse - names and date of marriage - but it can be very useful.
All of these records are records that can be accessed by the public. To obtain the actual record, you need to go someplace to obtain it, but a committed researcher, or any person, can find them and obtain them.
That brings up the issue of "should a genealogist help a customer, colleague or correspondent find records such as these?" I'll discuss this in a later post.
Do you have "living persons" to research? Have you checked the Vital Records system, Court system records,and the Property records system in the place where they live? If so, tell me about your successes and failures.
For San Diego County, the County Recorder and Assessor office provides minimal property information online. For land records, the web site is http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx. You can use the Search box (use last name first) to find the type of transactions (e.g., trust deeds, deeds, reconveyances, notices to creditors, tax liens, etc) and document numbers for property transactions. With the document number, you can order the document for a fee.
For probate records, the San Diego County Probate Court web site is here. On this page, put "Court Index" in the right hand search box and then select a "Party Name Search." If you input a surname, you get a list of the Probate Court cases on file between 1974 and 2007. Clicking on the Probate Case number gives you some information about the case - the type of case, the case category, the date filed, and the case file location. There is a link that tells you the physical location of the case file. In San Diego, most of them are in the Madge Bradley Building at 1401 4th Avenue in downtown San Diego.
Civil, criminal and domestic court records can also be found at the San Diego County Court web site. You get essentially the same information as for a probate case. The records are stored in a different location than the probate court records.
But you can find more information about property records by going to one of the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk locations - there are five locations in the county (downtown San Diego, Kearny Mesa, Chula Vista, El Cajon and San Marcos). The offices permit public access to computers with several databases on them. For instance, there is an index of current property owners and the tax assessments on those properties. By inputting a surname, or a surname and given name, you can find the properties they own, the property assessment value, the tax assessment, and a mailing address for the owner. You can also input a street address or a property identification number. This database is fairly difficult to use because it is function key driven, not mouse driven. But it is extremely useful.
The Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offices also have an index of San Diego county marriages from about 1960 to 2007. The information is sparse - names and date of marriage - but it can be very useful.
All of these records are records that can be accessed by the public. To obtain the actual record, you need to go someplace to obtain it, but a committed researcher, or any person, can find them and obtain them.
That brings up the issue of "should a genealogist help a customer, colleague or correspondent find records such as these?" I'll discuss this in a later post.
Do you have "living persons" to research? Have you checked the Vital Records system, Court system records,and the Property records system in the place where they live? If so, tell me about your successes and failures.
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