For Saturday Night Fun this weekend, please find answers to these questions:
1) What day of the week were you born? Tell us how you found out.
2) What has happened in recorded history on your birth date (day and month)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.
Here are mine, without the "Tell us how" bit (because I told you how earlier in the week - did you get the memo?).
1) 23 October 1943 was a Saturday.
2) Historic events that happened on 23 October:
* On 10/23/1086 - Battle of Zalaka: Alfonso VI vs Almoravids
* On 10/23/1642 - Battle at Edgeville (Warwick): King Charles I vs English parliament
* On 10/23/1775 - Continental Congress approves resolution barring blacks from army
* On 10/23/1824 - 1st steam locomotive is introduced
* On 10/23/1910 - Blanche Scott became 1st woman solo a public airplane flight
Saturday, December 20, 2008
A Genealogy Carol - O Family Tree
As we approach the Christmas season, I'm going to use some of the material I've collected for many years. Today - the song "O Family Tree" - sung to the tune of "O Tannenbaum" or "O Christmas Tree"
O Family Tree, O Family Tree
How sturdy are your branches.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
How sturdy are your branches.
Through many years in ages past
You have shown the strength to last.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
How sturdy are your branches.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
Reveal to me your mystery
As I research my ancestry.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
I learn from you so I can see
A part of you lives on in me.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
-- Author unknown --
If someone knows the author of this, please let me know.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree
How sturdy are your branches.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
How sturdy are your branches.
Through many years in ages past
You have shown the strength to last.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
How sturdy are your branches.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
Reveal to me your mystery
As I research my ancestry.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
There is so much for you to tell.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
I learn from you so I can see
A part of you lives on in me.
O Family Tree, O Family Tree,
Show to me my heritage.
-- Author unknown --
If someone knows the author of this, please let me know.
Grnea-Santa is on the road
What did you expect? For Genea-Santa to stay home in his cozy igloo and not distribute the genealogy gifts that all of the genea-bloggers desire? Of course, the issue is "have they been naughty or nice genea-bloggers?" Did they rant about databases and web sites, confuse readers, muck up their software reviews, or taunt their genealogy friends and colleagues? Did they post almost every day to keep their daily visits and page views up and up and up, not to mention the interest of their readers? Only Genea-Santa knows! He has some lumps of coal handy... and some neat surprises too, but the genea-bloggers will have to really search for them.
Actually, Linda and I are leaving Saturday morning to drive to Monte Rio to visit Linda's brother and his family, then to Santa Cruz to visit daughter Lori and her family (little boys aged 5 and almost 3), and to Victorville to visit daughter Tami and her family (little girls almost 4 and 8 months). Grandma and grandpa love to visit and watch the little ones in their native habitat and marvel at the energy and enthusiasm. We'll be in Santa Cruz on Christmas morning to watch the great gift opening frenzy, followed by playing with every gift within an hour or two. We should be home by New Year's Eve. The Lincoln is all tuned up, packed to the gills with presents, and ready for the 1,500 mile round trip. Thank goodness gas prices are down to about 33% of the prices from last summer.
I will have the laptop with me, and anticipate being able to read email, blogs and the Internet while at the family homes. I may post some notes, but then I may not! I have written some blog posts for the next ten days - enjoy!
Never fear - the blog posts will continue until the genealogy industry is perfect.
Actually, Linda and I are leaving Saturday morning to drive to Monte Rio to visit Linda's brother and his family, then to Santa Cruz to visit daughter Lori and her family (little boys aged 5 and almost 3), and to Victorville to visit daughter Tami and her family (little girls almost 4 and 8 months). Grandma and grandpa love to visit and watch the little ones in their native habitat and marvel at the energy and enthusiasm. We'll be in Santa Cruz on Christmas morning to watch the great gift opening frenzy, followed by playing with every gift within an hour or two. We should be home by New Year's Eve. The Lincoln is all tuned up, packed to the gills with presents, and ready for the 1,500 mile round trip. Thank goodness gas prices are down to about 33% of the prices from last summer.
I will have the laptop with me, and anticipate being able to read email, blogs and the Internet while at the family homes. I may post some notes, but then I may not! I have written some blog posts for the next ten days - enjoy!
Never fear - the blog posts will continue until the genealogy industry is perfect.
Friday, December 19, 2008
New searchable databases on NewEnglandAncestors.org
Searchable databases on http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ are, with few exceptions, a benefit of membership in the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).
The new searchable databases include (transcribed from the Holiday 2008 edition New England Ancestors magazine, published by NEHGS):
* Sandwich, Massachusetts Vital Records
* Belchertown, Massachusetts Vital Records
* Index to Massachusetts Births, 1911-1915
* The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F
* New Netherlands Connections, Volumes 5-8
* Families of Ancient New Haven, Volumes 1-8
* Boston Church Records, Part 2
* Plymouth Church Records
I'm going to go explore the 1911-1915 Birth index for Seaver persons, the New Netherlands Connections for my recently found Long Island families, and the two church record databases for Seaver and other surnames.
Need information about NEHGS membership? Visit http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ or call 1-888-296-3447.
I'm posting the names of the databases here because, as far as I can tell, they don't appear anywhere else on the Internet. These databases could help researchers find their "problem children" and might even bring more customers to NEHGS.
The new searchable databases include (transcribed from the Holiday 2008 edition New England Ancestors magazine, published by NEHGS):
* Sandwich, Massachusetts Vital Records
* Belchertown, Massachusetts Vital Records
* Index to Massachusetts Births, 1911-1915
* The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F
* New Netherlands Connections, Volumes 5-8
* Families of Ancient New Haven, Volumes 1-8
* Boston Church Records, Part 2
* Plymouth Church Records
I'm going to go explore the 1911-1915 Birth index for Seaver persons, the New Netherlands Connections for my recently found Long Island families, and the two church record databases for Seaver and other surnames.
Need information about NEHGS membership? Visit http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ or call 1-888-296-3447.
I'm posting the names of the databases here because, as far as I can tell, they don't appear anywhere else on the Internet. These databases could help researchers find their "problem children" and might even bring more customers to NEHGS.
Who is really the oldest in the 1880 census?
My Saturday Night Fun post from last week resulted in unintended consequences! I wanted readers to check the 1880 census and find the name, age and location of the oldest person enumerated. I wrote the question before I checked for the answer, and then was really surprised by the answers I found.
Three researchers took the time to respond in a comment to my blog post. Thank you to Julie, Eileen and Apple for their efforts. They taught me a lesson too!
Julie must have stayed up all night (she posted her comment at 1:31 a.m. PST) looking for birth dates year-by-year back to 1650. She found the 43 persons born in 1760 according to the index on http://www.ancestry.com/ and on FamilySearch Record Search. But then she checked the 1850-1880 Mortality schedules on http://www.ancestry.com/ and found Adil Laurf who died at age 150 in Charleston, SC in 1880.
Eileen found an entry for John Capistrano (presumably on FS Record Search) - age 133 living in San Antonio, Monterey County, California. His age was not indexed on http://www.ancestry.com/.
Apple also found the 43 persons born in 1760 on http://www.ancestry.com/, and checked earlier years.
The FamilySearch Record Search site lists 43 entries born in 1760. It also lists 2 born in 1759, one in 1752 - Maria Winder, and one in 1747 - John Capistrano. You cannot see the actual images on the FamilySearch site. You cannot define years on the 1880 census search without a name on the http://www.familysearch.org/ web site. If you put John Capistrano into the FS.org site, you get the 1880 census transcription that says he was born in 1747.
I was intrigued by the John Capistrano entry, so I went to http://www.ancestry.com/ to look at it, and his age is shown in parentheses. I wonder if that indicates that it was an estimate given by someone, or if the census taker didn't really believe it. He is an Indian, has younger people in the household, lives by charity, and his health is listed with "old age." I cannot find him in the 1850, 1860 or 1870 census records in Monterey County CA, or anyone in that county born before 1755, although there is an Indian in San Antonio township named Josefat aged 100 in 1860.
In the 1880 Mortality Census, I couldn't find the name Adil Laurf that Julie found. However, I found an entry for Lucy Orlet, age 153 in Charleston, SC - the actual entry does look like Adil Laurf, but all the names were last name first, and I can see how they picked Lucy Orlet! The "3" digit in "153" is impossible to read - even at maximum magnification. I agree with Julie - it may well be 15 months or even 15 days and not 153 years because she was "sick from birth."
Other candidates from the 1880 Mortality Schedule on http://www.ancestry.com/ are Zilphy Gilson, aged 150 who died in Macon County, GA in October of 1879 of "dropsy of heart," and Mary Bess, aged 150 who died in Millbury, Worcester County, MA in December of 1879 from "injuries from a fall."
A check of the 1850 census for Zil* Gil* in SC showed no one born before 1770 with that name. There is a slave aged 120 owned by Daniel Huger in Charleston County SC that may be Zilphy.
A check of the 1850 census for Mary Bes* in MA shows no one by that name born before 1775, and no person born before 1736 (Bridget Wheland) in MA. amazingly, there are 19 persons over age 100 in MA in 1850.
My best guess is that the "oldest person listed in the 1880 census" records is either Zilphy Gilson or Mary Bess.
What are the lessons here? For me, they are:
* The ages in the census may not be real accurate (we all "know" that but these are good examples!)
* Check surrounding names on the schedule to see if they list them as last name first.
* There are records "hiding in plain sight" when we just blithely say "look in the census." We need to look for state census records, mortality schedules, and slave schedules (even if they don't list the names of individuals).
* It helps to have more than one set of indexes for census records.
That was fun and educational, wasn't it?
Three researchers took the time to respond in a comment to my blog post. Thank you to Julie, Eileen and Apple for their efforts. They taught me a lesson too!
Julie must have stayed up all night (she posted her comment at 1:31 a.m. PST) looking for birth dates year-by-year back to 1650. She found the 43 persons born in 1760 according to the index on http://www.ancestry.com/ and on FamilySearch Record Search. But then she checked the 1850-1880 Mortality schedules on http://www.ancestry.com/ and found Adil Laurf who died at age 150 in Charleston, SC in 1880.
Eileen found an entry for John Capistrano (presumably on FS Record Search) - age 133 living in San Antonio, Monterey County, California. His age was not indexed on http://www.ancestry.com/.
Apple also found the 43 persons born in 1760 on http://www.ancestry.com/, and checked earlier years.
The FamilySearch Record Search site lists 43 entries born in 1760. It also lists 2 born in 1759, one in 1752 - Maria Winder, and one in 1747 - John Capistrano. You cannot see the actual images on the FamilySearch site. You cannot define years on the 1880 census search without a name on the http://www.familysearch.org/ web site. If you put John Capistrano into the FS.org site, you get the 1880 census transcription that says he was born in 1747.
I was intrigued by the John Capistrano entry, so I went to http://www.ancestry.com/ to look at it, and his age is shown in parentheses. I wonder if that indicates that it was an estimate given by someone, or if the census taker didn't really believe it. He is an Indian, has younger people in the household, lives by charity, and his health is listed with "old age." I cannot find him in the 1850, 1860 or 1870 census records in Monterey County CA, or anyone in that county born before 1755, although there is an Indian in San Antonio township named Josefat aged 100 in 1860.
In the 1880 Mortality Census, I couldn't find the name Adil Laurf that Julie found. However, I found an entry for Lucy Orlet, age 153 in Charleston, SC - the actual entry does look like Adil Laurf, but all the names were last name first, and I can see how they picked Lucy Orlet! The "3" digit in "153" is impossible to read - even at maximum magnification. I agree with Julie - it may well be 15 months or even 15 days and not 153 years because she was "sick from birth."
Other candidates from the 1880 Mortality Schedule on http://www.ancestry.com/ are Zilphy Gilson, aged 150 who died in Macon County, GA in October of 1879 of "dropsy of heart," and Mary Bess, aged 150 who died in Millbury, Worcester County, MA in December of 1879 from "injuries from a fall."
A check of the 1850 census for Zil* Gil* in SC showed no one born before 1770 with that name. There is a slave aged 120 owned by Daniel Huger in Charleston County SC that may be Zilphy.
A check of the 1850 census for Mary Bes* in MA shows no one by that name born before 1775, and no person born before 1736 (Bridget Wheland) in MA. amazingly, there are 19 persons over age 100 in MA in 1850.
My best guess is that the "oldest person listed in the 1880 census" records is either Zilphy Gilson or Mary Bess.
What are the lessons here? For me, they are:
* The ages in the census may not be real accurate (we all "know" that but these are good examples!)
* Check surrounding names on the schedule to see if they list them as last name first.
* There are records "hiding in plain sight" when we just blithely say "look in the census." We need to look for state census records, mortality schedules, and slave schedules (even if they don't list the names of individuals).
* It helps to have more than one set of indexes for census records.
That was fun and educational, wasn't it?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
"Making history personal" article about Bob Velke
Megan Smolenyak posted a link on Facebook to a Baltimore Sun story titled "Making history personal" by Janene Holzberg, dated 18 December 2008, that tells the story of how Bob Velke started and developed The Master Genealogist.
There are three excellent photographs of Bob at his desk (I wish mine was that clean), his family tree, and a closeup of some books and a CDROM.
Some quotes from the article and photos:
""Every family's got a genealogist," says Bob Velke, president of Wholly Genes, a genealogical software company that had its genesis in Oregon in the 1980s.
"Nearly half of all Americans list genealogy as a hobby," says Bob Velke, who lives in Columbia.
"Part of the attraction [of genealogy] lies in the hunt, and the hunt can go on forever," says Bob Velke. "You're never done."
This is an excellent article promoting genealogy research - look for a Velke-alanche at the Baltimore area genealogy societies and for TMG orders.
Thanks to Megan for the link.
There are three excellent photographs of Bob at his desk (I wish mine was that clean), his family tree, and a closeup of some books and a CDROM.
Some quotes from the article and photos:
""Every family's got a genealogist," says Bob Velke, president of Wholly Genes, a genealogical software company that had its genesis in Oregon in the 1980s.
"Nearly half of all Americans list genealogy as a hobby," says Bob Velke, who lives in Columbia.
"Part of the attraction [of genealogy] lies in the hunt, and the hunt can go on forever," says Bob Velke. "You're never done."
This is an excellent article promoting genealogy research - look for a Velke-alanche at the Baltimore area genealogy societies and for TMG orders.
Thanks to Megan for the link.
Famous People in the Census
I always enjoyed browsing through Michael John Neill's web page at www.rootdig.com showing records of famous people, and tried to participate in some of his reward searches for people that he couldn't find. Then TGN/Ancestry.com "requested" that he take the census images down from his web page and he did.
Well, Famous People in the Census is alive and kicking on Michael's new blog, appropriately titled Famous People in the Census! Michael is posting image snippets found on non-TGN web sites (think FamilySearch, footnote, and HeritageQuestOnline) of famous people. Of course, he knows where to look!
I'm happy to see Michael doing this, and will enjoy reading the posts every day/week. Michael is still posting census snippets from Ancestry.com for his personal research on his www.rootdig.com blog, which is allowable per the TGN Terms and Conditions.
Well, Famous People in the Census is alive and kicking on Michael's new blog, appropriately titled Famous People in the Census! Michael is posting image snippets found on non-TGN web sites (think FamilySearch, footnote, and HeritageQuestOnline) of famous people. Of course, he knows where to look!
I'm happy to see Michael doing this, and will enjoy reading the posts every day/week. Michael is still posting census snippets from Ancestry.com for his personal research on his www.rootdig.com blog, which is allowable per the TGN Terms and Conditions.
A Holiday Present from Dick Eastman
Dick Eastman just gave his readers a Holiday present (well, the ones who don't subscribe to his Plus edition) - a look at the current Plus edition newsletter. See Dick's blog post here. The Plus Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter is available here. Subscription rates are:
* $5.95 for three months
* $19.95 for twelve months.
The Plus edition contains all of the "free" newsletter items that Dick publishes on his blog, plus the technology and genealogy articles written by Dick and his contracted writers, which currently includes George G. Morgan and Lloyd D. Bockstruck.
In the free issue of the Plus Edition, these four Plus articles are available:
** How to Obtain Information from the 1940 and Later Census Records
** Every Tradition Has a Story by George G. Morgan
** Resources for Revolutionary Georgia & Sleuthing Methods by Lloyd Bockstruck
** Sources to Try: Something Old, Something New by Lloyd Bockstruck
These are interesting and useful articles, and typical of the content published in the Plus Edition by Dick Eastman each week.
I really appreciate Dick's efforts to bring all of the news that crosses his desk to the online genealogy world - especially those of us who live and breathe genealogy every day. Dick's blog has an archive of posts going back over 10 years - it's a wonderful record of the genealogy world we live in and enjoy being part of.
Thank you, Dick, for all you do.
* $5.95 for three months
* $19.95 for twelve months.
The Plus edition contains all of the "free" newsletter items that Dick publishes on his blog, plus the technology and genealogy articles written by Dick and his contracted writers, which currently includes George G. Morgan and Lloyd D. Bockstruck.
In the free issue of the Plus Edition, these four Plus articles are available:
** How to Obtain Information from the 1940 and Later Census Records
** Every Tradition Has a Story by George G. Morgan
** Resources for Revolutionary Georgia & Sleuthing Methods by Lloyd Bockstruck
** Sources to Try: Something Old, Something New by Lloyd Bockstruck
These are interesting and useful articles, and typical of the content published in the Plus Edition by Dick Eastman each week.
I really appreciate Dick's efforts to bring all of the news that crosses his desk to the online genealogy world - especially those of us who live and breathe genealogy every day. Dick's blog has an archive of posts going back over 10 years - it's a wonderful record of the genealogy world we live in and enjoy being part of.
Thank you, Dick, for all you do.
The "Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research" strikes again
I just love it when things happen out of the blue... read my story, learn about the lesson I learned (again), and see if you agree with my definition.
I posted a picture of the gravestone of my great-grandaunt Elizabeth Lucinda (Seaver) Blanchard, and her husband and daughter, on Tuesday in my Tombstone Tuesday post. I found that I didn't have information about her son, Kenneth L. Blanchard (1891-1918), in my Master database (he was in the Seaver database), so I decided to search for information about him. I recalled that he had died during World War I in France. I Googled him immediately, and found this American Legion post web site, which had this information about the entire Frederick Blanchard family in National City:
"At a meeting held December 8, 1921 the name of the Post was changed to Kenneth L. Blanchard Post 255 in honor of a National City young man who paid the supreme sacrifice.
"THE BLANCHARD FAMILY (source unknown): Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Blanchard came to National City from Boston in 1888. They lived for a long time in the house known as the “Blanchard House” on Tenth Street, near where the Luther Harris family lived. They brought their son Fredrick with them and later added 2 more boys: Lawrence and Kenneth – and then a dear little girl who soon left them for a home in another world.
"Mr. Fredrick Blanchard was an expert gardener. He loved to trim rosebushes and other shrubs and was quite probably the first expert gardener in National City. But there were not enough gardens here to keep him busy, so he decided to try his skill on lemons and other fruit trees. He may even have pruned the orchard at the head of Paradise Valley which D.E. Strahl planted, the first orange orchard on the Rancho de la Nacion, which was later purchased by Mr. Owens and by the way of Miss Owens finally became the property of Joseph Fritz – her husband and one of our former National City Councilmen. (The oranges originally were all seedlings.) However that may be, Mr. Frederick Blanchard made pruning his steady occupation and so well was his work done, that he was called further and further away from home, with more to do than he could take care of, until added years forced him to confine his activities to his own large garden east of Highland, near where the Corey’s’ lived.
"After Mrs. Blanchard died, Mr. Frederick Blanchard lived alone and went nowhere except very rarely to Coronado where he visited Mrs. David Webster whose daughter Mary was married to his son Fred (Professor Fred Blanchard, former head of the English department at the University of California, Los Angeles branch. After son Lawrence and his wife returned from Australia and added Jane to their family, they were very good to the old gentleman (Mr. Frederick Blanchard) in every way, until death called him.
"Son Lawrence was always an electrical genius. When the nation called for volunteers, he was taking a post-graduate course in electricity at U.C. while son Kenneth was studying to be a lawyer. Both dropped everything and enlisted - going over with one of the first hospital units. “Over there” they made good, and were promoted several times – son Kenneth always just a jump ahead. When son Lawrence had almost completed an electrical circuit connecting the various posts in France, a bomb sliver struck him over one eye, causing him to lose his sight. In addition to this, he had several times been gassed. In spite of this, he was made head of the auto division receiving the foreign dignitaries who came to Paris to sign up for the armistice, etc. Later, son Lawrence coming home by way of Gibraltar was in charge of a division of soldiers.
"Son Kenneth had been put in charge of a hospital in France and would have to wait 2 years before coming home. He was suddenly taken with pneumonia in a violent form and in a few days had answered to the last roll call. This is the Kenneth Blanchard after whom the local Post is named."
I broke the text up into paragraphs for easier reading. I wish that they had written more about my first cousin twice removed, Kenneth L. Blanchard. I'm not sure if he died in 1918 at the end of hostilities in France, or later while performing his hospital duties.
I'm wondering what the source is for this biographical entry. Is it a published Blanchard surname book or a collection of biographies in a San Diego local history book. I did not find it in a Google Book search for ["kenneth l blanchard" "national city"]. There is a book by Emma Gladden, titled The Blanchard Family and related families, published in 1959 (no publisher), listed in the Complement to Genealogies in the Library of Congress (found using Google Books for ["the blanchard family"]. It may have come from the Gladden work.
I relearned a lesson here: "There are resources that are not published, or on the Internet, that rest in repositories all over this world. You never know what you are going to find any time you visit a repository, where there might be periodical collections, family papers in a vertical file, or unpublished manuscripts."
I call this the "Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research."
Why do I call it the "Forrest Gump" principle? Remember the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump, where the most famous quote was "My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"
So the Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research is "Genealogy research is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to find, but you have to look everywhere your 'genealogy gem' might be hiding"
Other people call it "serendipity." I wish I would apply it more often! All you have to do, in genealogy, is go to repositories and look for the books and other records that might be available. Road trips are a lot of fun, sometimes!
I posted a picture of the gravestone of my great-grandaunt Elizabeth Lucinda (Seaver) Blanchard, and her husband and daughter, on Tuesday in my Tombstone Tuesday post. I found that I didn't have information about her son, Kenneth L. Blanchard (1891-1918), in my Master database (he was in the Seaver database), so I decided to search for information about him. I recalled that he had died during World War I in France. I Googled him immediately, and found this American Legion post web site, which had this information about the entire Frederick Blanchard family in National City:
"At a meeting held December 8, 1921 the name of the Post was changed to Kenneth L. Blanchard Post 255 in honor of a National City young man who paid the supreme sacrifice.
"THE BLANCHARD FAMILY (source unknown): Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Blanchard came to National City from Boston in 1888. They lived for a long time in the house known as the “Blanchard House” on Tenth Street, near where the Luther Harris family lived. They brought their son Fredrick with them and later added 2 more boys: Lawrence and Kenneth – and then a dear little girl who soon left them for a home in another world.
"Mr. Fredrick Blanchard was an expert gardener. He loved to trim rosebushes and other shrubs and was quite probably the first expert gardener in National City. But there were not enough gardens here to keep him busy, so he decided to try his skill on lemons and other fruit trees. He may even have pruned the orchard at the head of Paradise Valley which D.E. Strahl planted, the first orange orchard on the Rancho de la Nacion, which was later purchased by Mr. Owens and by the way of Miss Owens finally became the property of Joseph Fritz – her husband and one of our former National City Councilmen. (The oranges originally were all seedlings.) However that may be, Mr. Frederick Blanchard made pruning his steady occupation and so well was his work done, that he was called further and further away from home, with more to do than he could take care of, until added years forced him to confine his activities to his own large garden east of Highland, near where the Corey’s’ lived.
"After Mrs. Blanchard died, Mr. Frederick Blanchard lived alone and went nowhere except very rarely to Coronado where he visited Mrs. David Webster whose daughter Mary was married to his son Fred (Professor Fred Blanchard, former head of the English department at the University of California, Los Angeles branch. After son Lawrence and his wife returned from Australia and added Jane to their family, they were very good to the old gentleman (Mr. Frederick Blanchard) in every way, until death called him.
"Son Lawrence was always an electrical genius. When the nation called for volunteers, he was taking a post-graduate course in electricity at U.C. while son Kenneth was studying to be a lawyer. Both dropped everything and enlisted - going over with one of the first hospital units. “Over there” they made good, and were promoted several times – son Kenneth always just a jump ahead. When son Lawrence had almost completed an electrical circuit connecting the various posts in France, a bomb sliver struck him over one eye, causing him to lose his sight. In addition to this, he had several times been gassed. In spite of this, he was made head of the auto division receiving the foreign dignitaries who came to Paris to sign up for the armistice, etc. Later, son Lawrence coming home by way of Gibraltar was in charge of a division of soldiers.
"Son Kenneth had been put in charge of a hospital in France and would have to wait 2 years before coming home. He was suddenly taken with pneumonia in a violent form and in a few days had answered to the last roll call. This is the Kenneth Blanchard after whom the local Post is named."
I broke the text up into paragraphs for easier reading. I wish that they had written more about my first cousin twice removed, Kenneth L. Blanchard. I'm not sure if he died in 1918 at the end of hostilities in France, or later while performing his hospital duties.
I'm wondering what the source is for this biographical entry. Is it a published Blanchard surname book or a collection of biographies in a San Diego local history book. I did not find it in a Google Book search for ["kenneth l blanchard" "national city"]. There is a book by Emma Gladden, titled The Blanchard Family and related families, published in 1959 (no publisher), listed in the Complement to Genealogies in the Library of Congress (found using Google Books for ["the blanchard family"]. It may have come from the Gladden work.
I relearned a lesson here: "There are resources that are not published, or on the Internet, that rest in repositories all over this world. You never know what you are going to find any time you visit a repository, where there might be periodical collections, family papers in a vertical file, or unpublished manuscripts."
I call this the "Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research."
Why do I call it the "Forrest Gump" principle? Remember the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump, where the most famous quote was "My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"
So the Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research is "Genealogy research is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to find, but you have to look everywhere your 'genealogy gem' might be hiding"
Other people call it "serendipity." I wish I would apply it more often! All you have to do, in genealogy, is go to repositories and look for the books and other records that might be available. Road trips are a lot of fun, sometimes!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
What good is it if it won't work?
[Rant on...]
How often do you go to a genealogy web site or database provider, enter search terms in a search box, and then ... wait ... and wait ... and wait longer ... zzzzz ... and finally give up?
I wanted to find more information about the Frederick and Elizabeth (Seaver) Blanchard family tonight (their marriage location, their first son's birth date and birth place, etc.). I went to the New England Historic Genealogical Society's web site http://www.newenglandancestors.org/, logged in (I am a member), clicked on Databases and then on the Massachusetts Vital Records 1841-1910 link, and entered terms in the search box for the Blanchard-Seaver marriage.
The matches to my search came up quickly, and I clicked on the one for 1878 in Leominster, knowing that it was the right one. I then had a choice between the MrSID plugin and the "non-plugin image" to click on. I had downloaded the MrSID plugin several months ago (again, probably the third or fourth time I've done it), so I clicked on that since I know it is easier to manipulate and read the image than the other one. What - a blank screen? Arrggghhhh. Okay, back to the choice, the "non-plugin image" should do. I clicked on that, and I waited ... and waited ... and after three minutes got an "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" message. What the ----? Double Arrggghhhh.
So I went back to the Search box and went looking for the Birth record. I clicked Search and after waiting ... more waiting ... waiting at least five minutes, what the fu--? I finally stopped it and started writing this post. I gave them two chances and they have two strikes and a frustrated customer.
Okay, deep breath, let's try again [note to self, don't strike the keyboard or the mouse button hard, be gentle, it's not your computer's fault] -- back to the Search box, enter the birth information, hit Search, the search results appeared within five seconds, click on the "non-plugin image" link, the image comes up within five seconds, there he is, yep, Frederick Thomas Blanchard was born on 24 September 1878 in Harvard MA to Frederick G. and Elizabeth L. (Seaver) Blanchard.
Being the whining victim that I am, I decided to go for the third strike - I went back and clicked on the MrSID plugin image link, and it popped up within five seconds also. So - no third strike. I guess I'm glad of that. My mouse is too.
I had this same experience yesterday morning trying to find the same information. I gave up then too. I've had this same experience probably ten times over the past six months - again and again.
The page with the Search results says:
"Please note that some users are experiencing a problem where their browser closes after viewing 5 or 6 images with the MrSID plugin, we are working to resolve this issue and apologize for the interruption in your research. We suggest that you make sure your browser and PC are updated, it has been our experience that this helps to resolve the issue." in capital letters, but small font size.
Isn't that wonderful? It not only doesn't work about 75% of the time, but stops working, and shuts down your browser, soon after it does work. And they want to blame my browser and computer? I wonder how long that notice has been on the web site? Something tells me they aren't working very hard to resolve this issue.
Does NEHGS really want us to use the web site to search their databases? If so, why haven't they fixed it? They must be aware of the problems with this particular database. Frankly, the VR databases are my major reason for continuing to pay $75 a year for the membership. I would have to go to Boston and stay in a hotel to view these VRs, or go to Salt Lake City to the FHL to view the microfilms, or rent many films at my local FHC to obtain the information I need. The other benefit of the NEHGS membership is the two excellent publications - the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and New England Ancestors. I can always read the periodicals at one of the local libraries a year after publication.
My basic questions are: Why did this work at 8:10 p.m. PST and not at 8:00 p.m. PST? Why doesn't it work quickly every time? Are they really working hard to resolve this issue? Can I call them right now and see how much progress they're making?
Frankly, I would feel more "connected" to NEHGS and http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ if it worked quickly every time I tried to use it. That's the standard of customer service that I expect from NEHGS, Ancestry, WorldvitalRecords and all of the other database providers that I pay good money to use their services. Am I wrong to feel this way?
[Rant off]
There, I feel better. The opinions expressed here are those of the author of Genea-Musings. Your experience and mileage may vary.
What genealogy database providers frustrate you? Are any others as bad as NEHGS is for me?
UPDATE 12/18, 2:30 p.m.: Squeaking wheels get attention, and this post got some at NEHGS. I was just on the telephone with NEHGS President and CEO D. Brenton Simons, whom I briefly met at the SCGS Jamboree (I'm sure he doesn't remember, but I do). He said that he understood the frustration behind the post, and that they receive many similar complaints from members. Brenton said that they are aware of the problems with the web site, and are working on fixing it, but it will take some time. I appreciate Brenton's contact and understanding and his willingness to improve the site. I look forward to praising the new site design and operation when it happens. We had a good conversation.
How often do you go to a genealogy web site or database provider, enter search terms in a search box, and then ... wait ... and wait ... and wait longer ... zzzzz ... and finally give up?
I wanted to find more information about the Frederick and Elizabeth (Seaver) Blanchard family tonight (their marriage location, their first son's birth date and birth place, etc.). I went to the New England Historic Genealogical Society's web site http://www.newenglandancestors.org/, logged in (I am a member), clicked on Databases and then on the Massachusetts Vital Records 1841-1910 link, and entered terms in the search box for the Blanchard-Seaver marriage.
The matches to my search came up quickly, and I clicked on the one for 1878 in Leominster, knowing that it was the right one. I then had a choice between the MrSID plugin and the "non-plugin image" to click on. I had downloaded the MrSID plugin several months ago (again, probably the third or fourth time I've done it), so I clicked on that since I know it is easier to manipulate and read the image than the other one. What - a blank screen? Arrggghhhh. Okay, back to the choice, the "non-plugin image" should do. I clicked on that, and I waited ... and waited ... and after three minutes got an "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" message. What the ----? Double Arrggghhhh.
So I went back to the Search box and went looking for the Birth record. I clicked Search and after waiting ... more waiting ... waiting at least five minutes, what the fu--? I finally stopped it and started writing this post. I gave them two chances and they have two strikes and a frustrated customer.
Okay, deep breath, let's try again [note to self, don't strike the keyboard or the mouse button hard, be gentle, it's not your computer's fault] -- back to the Search box, enter the birth information, hit Search, the search results appeared within five seconds, click on the "non-plugin image" link, the image comes up within five seconds, there he is, yep, Frederick Thomas Blanchard was born on 24 September 1878 in Harvard MA to Frederick G. and Elizabeth L. (Seaver) Blanchard.
Being the whining victim that I am, I decided to go for the third strike - I went back and clicked on the MrSID plugin image link, and it popped up within five seconds also. So - no third strike. I guess I'm glad of that. My mouse is too.
I had this same experience yesterday morning trying to find the same information. I gave up then too. I've had this same experience probably ten times over the past six months - again and again.
The page with the Search results says:
"Please note that some users are experiencing a problem where their browser closes after viewing 5 or 6 images with the MrSID plugin, we are working to resolve this issue and apologize for the interruption in your research. We suggest that you make sure your browser and PC are updated, it has been our experience that this helps to resolve the issue." in capital letters, but small font size.
Isn't that wonderful? It not only doesn't work about 75% of the time, but stops working, and shuts down your browser, soon after it does work. And they want to blame my browser and computer? I wonder how long that notice has been on the web site? Something tells me they aren't working very hard to resolve this issue.
Does NEHGS really want us to use the web site to search their databases? If so, why haven't they fixed it? They must be aware of the problems with this particular database. Frankly, the VR databases are my major reason for continuing to pay $75 a year for the membership. I would have to go to Boston and stay in a hotel to view these VRs, or go to Salt Lake City to the FHL to view the microfilms, or rent many films at my local FHC to obtain the information I need. The other benefit of the NEHGS membership is the two excellent publications - the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and New England Ancestors. I can always read the periodicals at one of the local libraries a year after publication.
My basic questions are: Why did this work at 8:10 p.m. PST and not at 8:00 p.m. PST? Why doesn't it work quickly every time? Are they really working hard to resolve this issue? Can I call them right now and see how much progress they're making?
Frankly, I would feel more "connected" to NEHGS and http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ if it worked quickly every time I tried to use it. That's the standard of customer service that I expect from NEHGS, Ancestry, WorldvitalRecords and all of the other database providers that I pay good money to use their services. Am I wrong to feel this way?
[Rant off]
There, I feel better. The opinions expressed here are those of the author of Genea-Musings. Your experience and mileage may vary.
What genealogy database providers frustrate you? Are any others as bad as NEHGS is for me?
UPDATE 12/18, 2:30 p.m.: Squeaking wheels get attention, and this post got some at NEHGS. I was just on the telephone with NEHGS President and CEO D. Brenton Simons, whom I briefly met at the SCGS Jamboree (I'm sure he doesn't remember, but I do). He said that he understood the frustration behind the post, and that they receive many similar complaints from members. Brenton said that they are aware of the problems with the web site, and are working on fixing it, but it will take some time. I appreciate Brenton's contact and understanding and his willingness to improve the site. I look forward to praising the new site design and operation when it happens. We had a good conversation.
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