Today's Tuesday's Tip is to: Use the online tutorial at www.LearnWebSkills.com to improve your online genealogy skills.
Are you leery about using online genealogy databases? Has someone asked you how to, or do you know someone who wants to, improve their Internet skills for genealogy? Does your local society need an organized way to bring beginning researchers online?
I recommend that you use, or refer people to, the LearnWebSkills tutorials, which has five modules:
1. Getting Started - Home Sources, Charts, Recording Information, Citing Sources
2. Using Online Resources - Online Databases, Search Engines, Directories
3. Gathering Key Records - Vital Records, Federal Census Records
4. Exploring Further - Probate Records, Church Records, Military Records, Newspapers
5. Sharing Information - Discussion Lists, Message Boards, Software Programs
Each module has a number of topics that lead the user to a website, demonstrates how to use the web site, and lets the user practice on the site with tutorial help alongside. The "demonstration" and "practice"
The site uses only freely available resources. It does access the https://www.familysearch.org site for Ancestral File and for US Census Records, but uses the "old" Family History Library Catalog page.
There is also a special Researching Your Patriot Ancestors tutorial at http://www.learnwebskills.com/patriot/index.htm which has some of the same modules as the main site, but focuses on DAR applicants.
The LearnWebSkills tutorial sites were developed by Debbie Duay, Ph.D. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and are, I believe, the best online beginning online genealogy tutorials available.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Source Citation Creation in RootsMagic 4 - some examples
After my problems with creating Evidence! Explained quality source citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 and in Legacy Family Tree 7, I decided to export a GEDCOM file to RootsMagic 4 from Legacy. The main reason I did this from Legacy was to make sure that the Notes in the RootsMagic 4 file did not have missing spaces (as they did when I imported an FTM 2011 file earlier). The Source Citations export from Legacy as "Free-form" citations in the GEDCOM file, and import to RootsMagic in that format also.
I know that I could have imported the Legacy Family tree 7 file directly into RootsMagic 4, but I figured that the GEDCOM would be the "worst case," and typical of what a user that receives a GEDCOM file would do.
I went ahead and created duplicate Source Citations for a number of source types using the RootsMagic Source Templates. A screenshot of the RootsMagic source Template for the first item on my list (an online Vital Records Index) is shown below:
Here are some of the Source template citations created in RootsMagic 4 (same specific citations as created in FTM 2011):
Vital records index (Website, as book):
Rootsweb (original database created by State of California , Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, Sacramento,CA, USA), California Death Index, 1940-1997 [online index database] (http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi : accessed 2009), Maybelle C. Wright entry, Death Date 31 March 1964, Death place San Diego (80), Birth date 17 May 1902, Mother's maiden name Ashdown.
Randall Jeffrey Seaver, birth certificate NC-867 (1943) (23 October 1943), San Diego County Clerk Office, 1300 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California.
Blaine Whipple, History and Genealogy of "Elder" John Whipple of Ipswich, Massachusetts (Victoria, BC, Canada: Whipple Development Corporation, 2003).
Record Commissioners of Boston, A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston Containing Dorchester Births, Marriages and Deaths to the End of 1825 (Boston, Mass.: Rockwell & Churchill, City Printers, 1890).
Robert S. Wakefield (editor), Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Volume 13: Family of William White (Boston, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1997), page 6.
Caroline Martino and Marcia Lindberg, "Henry Collins of Lynn and his Descendants," The Essex Genealogist (The Essex Society of Genealogists, Lynn, Mass.), starting Vol. 10, #3-4 (1990), Vol 11, #1-3 (1991), Vol 12 #4 (1992).
Elizabeth French Bartlett, ""Genealogical Research in England: Weeden," New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society), Volume 76 (Number 2 (April 1922)): [Page].
"Frederick Schaffner Death Notice," San Francisco [California] Chronicle [online database, index and images], 1 July 1899, page 10; (http://www.SFGenealogy.com : accessed 2010).
1930 United States Census, San Diego County, California, population schedule, San Diego City, enumeration district (ED) 116, 5A [stamped], dwelling #142, family #148, Lyle L. Carringer; [online index and digital images], Ancestry.com ( Provo, Utah, USA, 2004) (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2010); citing National Archives publication T626, roll 192.
Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County [Mass.] Probate Court Records (1732-1881), Probate Packet 52,857 (1867), Abigail (Gates) Seaver, 1867; Worcester County Courthouse, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Woodside Cemetery (Westminster, Massachusetts), Benjamin Seaver monument; photographed by Randall Seaver, 2004.
Smith/Carringer Family Correspondence (loose letters, 1888–1902), [Page], originals privately held by Randall J. Seaver, [address for private use], Chula Vista CA 91911, 1988 (great grandson). Family letters to and from Abigail (Vaux) Smith, Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer, and Della (Smith) Carringer.
Family Bible Record template:
Family Bible Record of Rebecca "Spangler" Carringer of Boulder, Colorado and San Diego, California, unknown title (unknown location: unknown publisher, n.d.), owner (1988) Randall J. Seaver, ([address for private use], Chula Vista CA 91911).
The interested reader can compare those with the corresponding entries in Evidence! Explained and in Source Citations Created in Family Tree Maker 2011 - some examples. I see now that I neglected to do a similar post for Legacy Family Tree 7.
The only thing I saw that bothered me a bit was the Census source template that will require each unique census page to have it's own Master Source citation (because of the need to put the NARA Roll number in the Master Source field). I may leave those in the free-form style because I have so many of them.
I am very happy with the source citations created using the RootsMagic 4 source templates. It takes some time to do each one of them, but the master source creation process seems much easier than FTM2011 and Legacy Family Tree 7. Going forward, the two big issues for me are:
1) Does RootsMagic place the information in the Source Template fields into the correct GEDCOM fields?
2) Can I merge the existing 650 free-form source templates in the database into the RootsMagic EE-style Source Templates?
If RootsMagic 4 can do both of those tasks, then it will become my favorite program because it creates the least work for me. I will go ahead and make Source Template citations and merge the Free-form citations into the template citations.
The Seaver Source Citation Saga continues...
I know that I could have imported the Legacy Family tree 7 file directly into RootsMagic 4, but I figured that the GEDCOM would be the "worst case," and typical of what a user that receives a GEDCOM file would do.
I went ahead and created duplicate Source Citations for a number of source types using the RootsMagic Source Templates. A screenshot of the RootsMagic source Template for the first item on my list (an online Vital Records Index) is shown below:
Here are some of the Source template citations created in RootsMagic 4 (same specific citations as created in FTM 2011):
Vital records index (Website, as book):
Rootsweb (original database created by State of California , Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, Sacramento,CA, USA), California Death Index, 1940-1997 [online index database] (http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi : accessed 2009), Maybelle C. Wright entry, Death Date 31 March 1964, Death place San Diego (80), Birth date 17 May 1902, Mother's maiden name Ashdown.
Birth certificate, local level:
Book, basic format
Record Commissioners of Boston, A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston Containing Dorchester Births, Marriages and Deaths to the End of 1825 (Boston, Mass.: Rockwell & Churchill, City Printers, 1890).
Robert S. Wakefield (editor), Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Volume 13: Family of William White (Boston, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1997), page 6.
Periodical (Serial)
Elizabeth French Bartlett, ""Genealogical Research in England: Weeden," New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society), Volume 76 (Number 2 (April 1922)): [Page].
Newspaper, online images
Census, U.S. Federal (online images)
Probates - case file (local)
Grave Markers (urban or rural)
Family records, non-Bible (privately held)
Family Bible
Family Bible Record template:
Family Bible Record of Rebecca "Spangler" Carringer of Boulder, Colorado and San Diego, California, unknown title (unknown location: unknown publisher, n.d.), owner (1988) Randall J. Seaver, ([address for private use], Chula Vista CA 91911).
The interested reader can compare those with the corresponding entries in Evidence! Explained and in Source Citations Created in Family Tree Maker 2011 - some examples. I see now that I neglected to do a similar post for Legacy Family Tree 7.
The only thing I saw that bothered me a bit was the Census source template that will require each unique census page to have it's own Master Source citation (because of the need to put the NARA Roll number in the Master Source field). I may leave those in the free-form style because I have so many of them.
I am very happy with the source citations created using the RootsMagic 4 source templates. It takes some time to do each one of them, but the master source creation process seems much easier than FTM2011 and Legacy Family Tree 7. Going forward, the two big issues for me are:
1) Does RootsMagic place the information in the Source Template fields into the correct GEDCOM fields?
2) Can I merge the existing 650 free-form source templates in the database into the RootsMagic EE-style Source Templates?
If RootsMagic 4 can do both of those tasks, then it will become my favorite program because it creates the least work for me. I will go ahead and make Source Template citations and merge the Free-form citations into the template citations.
The Seaver Source Citation Saga continues...
Dear Randy - What are the Extraneous Marks on this Census Record?
Reader Linda asked this question in email yesterday, sending along this 1900 census image which includes one of her ancestral families:
There is a set of handwritten marks for each family, noted in the head of household's Name field. The notations have two lines, like "6-1 / of 6" The first and last numbers seem to be the number of persons in each household. There is also notations in the Relation field (e.g. 4C), which I think is the number of children in the household.
I remembered that there was a discussion of these marks in my extensive readings. I searched the Ancestry Article Archives and didn't find one that addressed this. I checked the reference books I have available on my bookshelf and didn't see anything.
I Googled [1900 census extraneous marks] today and found the discussion thread on the APG mailing list from June 2009 - Drew Smith's post title 1910 census help...
Drew noted:
"You may be thinking of this article:http://www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm-catalogs/census/1920/part-01.html
"It includes the following text:
"The microfilm may also show code numbers or letters in some of the columns. Clerks added these codes in red ink (which cannot be distinguished on the microfilm) after the census, to be punched into the cards used to tabulate the census results. The codes usually represent household composition, occupation and class of worker, or simply marks made in the coding, punching, or tabulating operations themselves and should be ignored."
Linda's example had only the single set of extraneous marks on the census. The census page for my Austin Carringer family in the 1900 census has several more sets of extraneous marks:
There is a set of handwritten marks for each family, noted in the head of household's Name field. The notations have two lines, like "6-1 / of 6" The first and last numbers seem to be the number of persons in each household. There is also notations in the Relation field (e.g. 4C), which I think is the number of children in the household.
I remembered that there was a discussion of these marks in my extensive readings. I searched the Ancestry Article Archives and didn't find one that addressed this. I checked the reference books I have available on my bookshelf and didn't see anything.
I Googled [1900 census extraneous marks] today and found the discussion thread on the APG mailing list from June 2009 - Drew Smith's post title 1910 census help...
Drew noted:
"You may be thinking of this article:http://www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm-catalogs/census/1920/part-01.html
"It includes the following text:
"The microfilm may also show code numbers or letters in some of the columns. Clerks added these codes in red ink (which cannot be distinguished on the microfilm) after the census, to be punched into the cards used to tabulate the census results. The codes usually represent household composition, occupation and class of worker, or simply marks made in the coding, punching, or tabulating operations themselves and should be ignored."
Linda's example had only the single set of extraneous marks on the census. The census page for my Austin Carringer family in the 1900 census has several more sets of extraneous marks:
This image has extraneous marks in three columns - in the Name column for the head of household (e.g., "4-1/of 4"), the Relation column (e.g., "1C.1R") and in the Occupation column (e.g., "0.0.3"). The "1C.1R" in the Relation column probably denotes one Child, one Roomer (or Relative?). The Occupation field numbers are some sort of census department code for the particular occupation, and the list is probably available somewhere on the National archives site.
There are extraneous marks on the 1910 census pages also (different from the 1900 marks), but are not on the 1920 and 1930 Census pages (at least on the ones I checked).
Thank you to Linda for the question, and to Drew Smith for providing enough keywords in his APG mailing list post so I could find it.
Amanuensis Monday - Alpheus B. Smith Probate Papers - Post 2
Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:
"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the probate file of Alpheus B. Smith (1798-1840) of Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. The papers are in Probate Packet No. 16,776 in the Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court records. I listed the papers in the Probate Packet in Amanuensis Monday - Insolvency Sale of Land of Alpheus B. Smith.
The full packets are not available on Family History Library microfilms - only the Clerk's copies recorded in the Probate Court Records are available on microfilm. All of the papers in this packet are in three volumes, but they are on three different microfilms. I have many of the papers in the packet, but not all of them. The next time I go to Salt Lake City, I will find and obtain the rest of them. Here are three more of the papers filed in the Probate Court:
Note: In the transcriptions below, printed forms are unitalicized, handwritten words and numbers are italicized, and blanks in the form are underlined.
"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the probate file of Alpheus B. Smith (1798-1840) of Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. The papers are in Probate Packet No. 16,776 in the Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court records. I listed the papers in the Probate Packet in Amanuensis Monday - Insolvency Sale of Land of Alpheus B. Smith.
The full packets are not available on Family History Library microfilms - only the Clerk's copies recorded in the Probate Court Records are available on microfilm. All of the papers in this packet are in three volumes, but they are on three different microfilms. I have many of the papers in the packet, but not all of them. The next time I go to Salt Lake City, I will find and obtain the rest of them. Here are three more of the papers filed in the Probate Court:
Note: In the transcriptions below, printed forms are unitalicized, handwritten words and numbers are italicized, and blanks in the form are underlined.
The Inventory Filed form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 766, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):
“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Roxbury in said County, on the fourth Tuesday of December, A.D. 1839 and continued by adjournment .from time to time to the fifteenth day of February A.D. 1840.
“The Inventory of the Estate of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in the County of Norfolk deceased, amounting in real estate to $720 in personal estate to $119.37 having been duly exhibited on oath by Hinsdale Fisher Admr, it is therefore ordered that the same be accepted and filed. S. Leland, Judge of Probate”
The Allowance of Widows form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 739, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):
“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Dedham in said County, on the first Tuesday of February, A.D. 1840.
“It is ordered that Elizabeth H. Smith widow of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in said County, yeoman deceased, be and she hereby is allowed out of his personal estate, such necessary articles not exceeding $115 in value, as she shall select, for the use of herself and the minor children of the said deceased, if any there be, under her care. – S. Leland Judge of Probate”
The Petition for Dower Order form has this information (from Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court Records, Volume 73, Page 712, on FHL Microfilm 0,842,817):
“Norfolk SS. At a Court of Probate holden at Dedham in said County, on the first Tuesday of June, A.D. 1840.
“It appearing upon the petition of Elizabeth H. Smith of Medfield in said County, that she is the Widow of Alpheus B. Smith late of Medfield in said County of Norfolk, yeoman deceased, that he died seized of real estate situated in Medfield of the value of $700; that she is entitled to dower therein, and requests the same to be assigned to her, and that Lucretia T. Smith & James A. Smith of Medfield, the other owners of said estate and the only other persons interested therein, have had due notice of her said petition. – S. Leland Judge of Probate”
Three discreet disinterested persons were authorized and required by the court to assign the Widow her dower of one-third of the income from all of the real estate owned by her husband.
I have more papers to transcribe in this series. The three papers listed above are some of the first ones filed (I cherry-picked the one two weeks ago because it gave me a lead on Elizabeth (Dill) Smith's ancestry) and lay the groundwork for succeeding papers in the packet.
The Inventory Filed form does not include a list of real and personal property, which is unfortunate.
The widow was allowed all of the personal estate in the Allowance of Widows document, which was logical since those are the items that she needed to continue living in the house and raise her children.
If I had not known the names of both of the children of Alpheus and Elizabeth (Dill) Smith from other records, I would have been able to identify them, since the Dower document above names them.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Best of the Genea-Blogs - 23-29 January 2011
Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* From Deed to Map by the writer of The Shy Genealogist blog. As promised last week, TSG has produced an excellent road map for researchers to turn their ancestor's land deed into a map of the property.
* Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers Quarterback and His Connection to the Chicago Bears & Pittsburgh Steelers by Nick Gombash on Nick Gombash's Genealogy Blog. Nick posted this right after the football game last Sunday - he did quite a bit of online targeted research to determine this. Well done!
* New FamilySearch, a view from the British Isles Part Three by Audrey Collins on The Family Recorder blog. Audrey keeps finding things not to like for British Isles researchers on the revamped FamilySearch site.
* What's a Professional Researcher to Do without Expert Connect? by Marian Pierre-Louis on the Roots and Rambles blog. Marian has advice for those researchers that were working with Ancestry.com's Expert Connect service.
* How to set your “Favorites” on the NEHGS search site by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on the Nutfield Genealogy blog. Heather provides helpful directions to do this task on http://www.americanancestors.org/. It works!
* Expert Disconnect – What’s Ancestry.com’s Next Move by Thomas MacEntee on the High-Definition Genealogy blog. Thomas speculates about Ancestry.com's future - I love blogs like this!
* Transcript For Genealogy Transcriptions by Lee Drew on the FamHist blog. Lee gives Transcript software a whirl, and likes what he sees. I do too. It's free.
* Now For My More Rational Side by Kim on the Ancestors of Mine from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Beyond blog. Kim was affected by the Expert Connect cancellation, and she discusses it from all sides. Well done.
* The 50 Best Life Story Questions.by Dan Curtis on the Dan Curtis - Professional Personal Historian blog. Nice list, Dan! A keeper.
* What I'd Like From Ancestry.com by Michael John Neill on the Rootdig.com blog. Good suggestions from a great researcher - Ancestry, are you listening?
* We Want Tech: Highlight Flagrantly Erroneous Pedigrees by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. I agree wholeheartedly! Read the comments too.
* Manuscripts – Don’t Ignore Such Valuable Resources by Carolyn L. Barkley on the GenealogyandFamilyHistory.com blog. This is a great article about seldom remembered genealogical resources.
* Email about Starting Genealogy Research by Ruth Himan on the Genealogy Is Ruthless Without Me blog. Ruth responds to an emailer in her own inimitable, knowledgeable and funny way. More to come?
* Approaching your Genealogy Problems Creatively by the writer of the relatively curious about genealogy blog. I had heard of mind-mapping - here are some websites that might help you brainstorm your research problems.
* The future of subscription websites for genealogy by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog. James ponders Ancestry.com's fate, and that of other subscription websites. Good thinking.
* Miscellaneous Serendipity! by Paula Stuart-Warren on the Paula's Genealogical Eclectica blog. Paula has words of wisdom here - do you check the "miscellaneous papers" at a repository?
Several other genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:
* Friday Newsletter and Follow News: 28 January 2011 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere - January 28 by Susan Petersen on the Long Lost Relatives.net blog.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 800 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* From Deed to Map by the writer of The Shy Genealogist blog. As promised last week, TSG has produced an excellent road map for researchers to turn their ancestor's land deed into a map of the property.
* Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers Quarterback and His Connection to the Chicago Bears & Pittsburgh Steelers by Nick Gombash on Nick Gombash's Genealogy Blog. Nick posted this right after the football game last Sunday - he did quite a bit of online targeted research to determine this. Well done!
* New FamilySearch, a view from the British Isles Part Three by Audrey Collins on The Family Recorder blog. Audrey keeps finding things not to like for British Isles researchers on the revamped FamilySearch site.
* What's a Professional Researcher to Do without Expert Connect? by Marian Pierre-Louis on the Roots and Rambles blog. Marian has advice for those researchers that were working with Ancestry.com's Expert Connect service.
* How to set your “Favorites” on the NEHGS search site by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on the Nutfield Genealogy blog. Heather provides helpful directions to do this task on http://www.americanancestors.org/. It works!
* Expert Disconnect – What’s Ancestry.com’s Next Move by Thomas MacEntee on the High-Definition Genealogy blog. Thomas speculates about Ancestry.com's future - I love blogs like this!
* Transcript For Genealogy Transcriptions by Lee Drew on the FamHist blog. Lee gives Transcript software a whirl, and likes what he sees. I do too. It's free.
* Now For My More Rational Side by Kim on the Ancestors of Mine from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Beyond blog. Kim was affected by the Expert Connect cancellation, and she discusses it from all sides. Well done.
* The 50 Best Life Story Questions.by Dan Curtis on the Dan Curtis - Professional Personal Historian blog. Nice list, Dan! A keeper.
* What I'd Like From Ancestry.com by Michael John Neill on the Rootdig.com blog. Good suggestions from a great researcher - Ancestry, are you listening?
* We Want Tech: Highlight Flagrantly Erroneous Pedigrees by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. I agree wholeheartedly! Read the comments too.
* Manuscripts – Don’t Ignore Such Valuable Resources by Carolyn L. Barkley on the GenealogyandFamilyHistory.com blog. This is a great article about seldom remembered genealogical resources.
* Email about Starting Genealogy Research by Ruth Himan on the Genealogy Is Ruthless Without Me blog. Ruth responds to an emailer in her own inimitable, knowledgeable and funny way. More to come?
* Approaching your Genealogy Problems Creatively by the writer of the relatively curious about genealogy blog. I had heard of mind-mapping - here are some websites that might help you brainstorm your research problems.
* The future of subscription websites for genealogy by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog. James ponders Ancestry.com's fate, and that of other subscription websites. Good thinking.
* Miscellaneous Serendipity! by Paula Stuart-Warren on the Paula's Genealogical Eclectica blog. Paula has words of wisdom here - do you check the "miscellaneous papers" at a repository?
Several other genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:
* Friday Newsletter and Follow News: 28 January 2011 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere - January 28 by Susan Petersen on the Long Lost Relatives.net blog.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 800 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Date You Were Born
It's Saturday Night - time for more Genealogy Fun!
Youir mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
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.
3) What famous people have been born on your birth date? Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.
4) Put your responses in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.
Here are mine, without the "Tell us how" bit...
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
3) The famous birthdays:
1959 'Weird' Al Yankovic (singer, comedian)
1942 Michael (John) Crichton (writer)
1940 Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) (Brazil's soccer star)
1925 Johnny Carson (comedian, TV Host)
1835 Adlai Ewing Stevenson (23rd Vice President)
Hint: For the day of the week you were born, check here.
Hint: For the events on that day, check here.
Hint: For the Famous birthdays, check here.
Youir mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
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.
3) What famous people have been born on your birth date? Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.
4) Put your responses in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.
Here are mine, without the "Tell us how" bit...
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
3) The famous birthdays:
Hint: For the day of the week you were born, check here.
Hint: For the events on that day, check here.
Hint: For the Famous birthdays, check here.
Surname Saturday - WING (England to colonial Massachusetts)
It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 161, but numbers 161 to 175 are unknown to me - great-great-grandmothers of my ancestor, Thomas Richmond. Next up is #177, who is Abigail WING (1734-1806), one of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts]
My ancestral line back through five generations of WING families is:
1. Randall J. Seaver
2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)
4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
10. Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11. Julia White (1848-1912)
22. Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23. Amy Frances Oatley (1826-before 1870)
44. Jonathan White (1806-1850)
45. Miranda Wade (1804-1850)
88. Humphrey White (1758-1814)
89. Sybil Kirby (1764-1848)
176. Jonathan White, born about 1732 in probably Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 21 Nov 1804 in Westport, Bristol County, MA. He was the son of 352. William White and 353. Abigail Thurston. He married 01 Jan 1756 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
177. Abigail Wing, born 25 Apr 1734 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died 06 Aug 1806 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
Children of Jonathan White and Abigail Wing are: Humphrey White (1758-1814); Ruth White (1759-1835); Rhoda White (1761-1822); Hannah White (1765-1842); Holder White (1768-1853); Jonathan White (1778-1846);
354. Benjamin Wing, born 01 Feb 1697/98 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died after 15 Oct 1776 in in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. He married 18 Oct 1722 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
355. Content Tucker, born 12 Mar 1694/95 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA; died before Oct 1738 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. She was the daughter of 710. Abraham Tucker and 711. Hannah Mott.
Children of Benjamin Wing and Content Tucker are: Elizabeth Wing (1724-1778); Sarah Wing (1726-1813); Hannah Wing (1728-????); Benjamin Wing (1732-1801); Abigail Wing (1734-1806).
708. Matthew Wing, born 01 Mar 1673/74 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA; died before 21 Jul 1724 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. He married 04 Sep 1694 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA.
709. Elizabeth Mott, born 09 Aug 1659 in Portsmouth, Newport County, RI; died 1723 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, MA. She was the daughter of 1418. Adam Mott and 1419. Mary Lott.
Children of Matthew Wing and Elizabeth Mott are: Joseph Wing (1697-1778); Benjamin Wing (1698-1776); Abigail Wing (1701-1792).
1416. Stephen Wing, born about 1621 in probably Flushing, HOLLAND; died 24 Apr 1710 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA. He married 07 Feb 1653/54 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA.
1417. Sarah Briggs, born about 1638 in prob. Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA; died 26 Mar 1689 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, MA. She was the daughter of 2834. John Briggs and 2835. Katherine.
Children of Stephen Wing and Sarah Briggs are: Stephen Wing (1656-1676); Sarah Wing (1659-1720); John Wing (1661-1728); Abigail Wing (1664-1700); Elisha Wing (1669-1757); Ebenezer Wing (1671-1738); Matthew Wing (1674-1724).
2832. John Wing, born before 12 Jan 1583/84 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND; died before 04 Aug 1630 in London, London, ENGLAND. He was the son of 5664. Matthew Wing and 5665. Mary. He married about 1610 in probably Hampshire, ENGLAND.
2833. Deborah Bachiler, born about 1592 in Wherwell, Hampshire, ENGLAND; died Bef. 1680 in prob. Yarmouth, Barnstable County, MA. She was the daughter of 5666. Stephen Bachiler and 5667. Anne.
Children of John Wing and Deborah Bachiler are: Deborah Wing (1611-1699); John Wing (1613-1699); Daniel Wing (1617-1698); Stephen Wing (1621-1710); Matthew Wing (1624-1680).
Friday, January 28, 2011
Getting Ready for the FamilySearch Center on Saturday
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society is sponsoring a research trip about ten miles up the road to the San Diego FamilySearch Center in San Diego. It's not far, but we're carpooling so that members who don't drive on the freeways any more can go. We have 14 signed up for the carpool trip, and some of them are new members, and many of them have not been to the FHC before. It should be fun.
My main job will be to shepherd the group there and help them while we're there, but I hope to do a little searching of my own.
I have not done a good literature search on the latest group of ancestors I've added to my family tree - the ancestors of Sarah Martin (1792-1860). She has a very rich New Jersey and New England ancestry, including one or two Mayflower Famlies if you believe the online family trees.
I recalled that Martin Hollick had written a blog post on The Slovak Yankee about how he searches existing works - I had to go back to August 2010, but I found his post Shepardizing Your Genealogy which summarized how he does it:
1) " ... Donald Lines Jacobus, Index to Genealogical Periodicals, which will let me see all the scholarship for east coast families up to the publication year of 1953."
2) "... Meredith Colket's Founders of Early American Families which takes me up to 1985, albeit imperfectly. At least the major journals are indexed therein, but it is only families that fall within that lineage society's rules (a family here before 1657 and continuing in the male line to the American Revolution)."
3) Martin's own book, "New Englanders in the 1600s which covers 1980 to 2005 (in print), and then my own private update which takes me to the end of 2009. That's how I see what is current for (mostly) New England families."
I have 2) and 3), and today I went through Martin's excellent book for all of the immigrant names that I think are in Sarah Martin's ancestry, and added them to my to-do list for published books and periodicals.
Let me give you an example of what is in Martin's book (from page 94):
"HALE, THOMAS, b. 1606, d. Newbury, Mass., 21 December 1682. Davis II:62-69 [Phoebe Tilton], including English origins. Wife's Kirby ancestry given at Davis II:394-395 [Phoebe Tilton]; 50Imm, pp. 169-98; MBT #844; NEHGR 151:128-34 (wife's ancestry); TAG 68:77-83 (Mary-3, Thomas-2); TAG 69:212-18 (Mary-2)."
The references are cryptic but a full source citation for each is provided in the front part of the book. I knew that "50Imm" referred to John Brooks Threlfall's book 50 Gret Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins, published in 1990 by the author. "NEHGR" is the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and "TAG" is The American Genealogist.
I really appreciate Martin's book, which he sent to me gratis over a year ago. It has become the first reference work I check when I find a new New England ancestral family.
I updated my "Books I Want to Review" and "Journals I Want to Review" lists today, adding information directly from the entries in Martin's book. Now all I have to do is print them out and I'm ready to check the stacks (they have TAG, Connecticut Nutmeggers, NEHGR, and other periodicals too).
My main job will be to shepherd the group there and help them while we're there, but I hope to do a little searching of my own.
I have not done a good literature search on the latest group of ancestors I've added to my family tree - the ancestors of Sarah Martin (1792-1860). She has a very rich New Jersey and New England ancestry, including one or two Mayflower Famlies if you believe the online family trees.
I recalled that Martin Hollick had written a blog post on The Slovak Yankee about how he searches existing works - I had to go back to August 2010, but I found his post Shepardizing Your Genealogy which summarized how he does it:
1) " ... Donald Lines Jacobus, Index to Genealogical Periodicals, which will let me see all the scholarship for east coast families up to the publication year of 1953."
2) "... Meredith Colket's Founders of Early American Families which takes me up to 1985, albeit imperfectly. At least the major journals are indexed therein, but it is only families that fall within that lineage society's rules (a family here before 1657 and continuing in the male line to the American Revolution)."
3) Martin's own book, "New Englanders in the 1600s which covers 1980 to 2005 (in print), and then my own private update which takes me to the end of 2009. That's how I see what is current for (mostly) New England families."
I have 2) and 3), and today I went through Martin's excellent book for all of the immigrant names that I think are in Sarah Martin's ancestry, and added them to my to-do list for published books and periodicals.
Let me give you an example of what is in Martin's book (from page 94):
"HALE, THOMAS, b. 1606, d. Newbury, Mass., 21 December 1682. Davis II:62-69 [Phoebe Tilton], including English origins. Wife's Kirby ancestry given at Davis II:394-395 [Phoebe Tilton]; 50Imm, pp. 169-98; MBT #844; NEHGR 151:128-34 (wife's ancestry); TAG 68:77-83 (Mary-3, Thomas-2); TAG 69:212-18 (Mary-2)."
The references are cryptic but a full source citation for each is provided in the front part of the book. I knew that "50Imm" referred to John Brooks Threlfall's book 50 Gret Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins, published in 1990 by the author. "NEHGR" is the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and "TAG" is The American Genealogist.
I really appreciate Martin's book, which he sent to me gratis over a year ago. It has become the first reference work I check when I find a new New England ancestral family.
I updated my "Books I Want to Review" and "Journals I Want to Review" lists today, adding information directly from the entries in Martin's book. Now all I have to do is print them out and I'm ready to check the stacks (they have TAG, Connecticut Nutmeggers, NEHGR, and other periodicals too).
Source Citation Dilemma in Legacy Family Tree 7
When I last looked at creating Source Citations in Legacy Family Tree 7, in Peeking at Legacy Family Tree 7.5 Source Citations in the GEDCOM File - Post 1, I found that the source citations created using the Legacy SourceWriter templates followed the Evidence! Explained model well. After that post, I created a number of different types of source citations using the SourceWriter templates. The other conclusion from that study was that Legacy Family Tree 7 created a GEDCOM file that put the source elements into the right tags and did not add extraneous words to the GEDCOM file. That was all to the good.
My dilemma now is this: I have over 20,000 sources citations in over 650 Master Sources, but all of the Master Sources (except the ones I've created recently using the SourceWriter) are Basic Sources because they came across in the GEDCOM file in that format (since GEDCOM has fairly rigid tag fields).
My idea was to create a Template Source for many of the Master Sources, then combine or merge all of the citations in Basic Sources into the Template Source. Here was the process I tried to use:
I created a Template Source for the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 online database using the "Death Records = Death register = Created at state/provincial level = Online image" template in SourceWriter:
The resulting Source Citations for this source using the SourceWriter template are:
Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, ; digital image, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org).
Subsequent Citation:
Massachusetts Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, .
Bibliography:
Massachusetts. State Archives. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. http://www.AmericanAncestors.org: 2004.
Well, those are not perfect, are they? The problems I have include:
* In the Footnote/Endnote, there is a comma after "1910."
* In the Subsequent citation, there is the word "Massachusetts" before the name of the database (caused by putting the Jurisdiction State in the field in the template)
* In the Subsequent citation, there is an extra comma after "1910."
* In the Bibliography, the word "Massachusetts" has a period after it (again, the Jurisdiction State entry in the template).
I attempted to duplicate the Legacy SourceWriter template citation in the Basic Source Citation, with this result:
The resulting Source Citations for this source using the Basic Source template are:
Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
Subsequent Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
Bibliography
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
The problems I see with this set of Basic Source Citations include:
* They are not exactly what the Evidence! Explained model for this type of source citation shows, but it is close. I can probably edit it to be closer to the EE models.
* There is no extraneous punctuation in the citations
* The website name is not italicized as in the SourceWriter template and EE model.
* The Subsequent Citation is in an improper format (since it wasn't created from a SourceWriter template)
* The Bibliography entry is in an improper format (since it wasn't created from a SourceWriter template).
Be that as it may, I want to combine all 1,423 of the source citations made with the Free-form template with the one made by the SourceWriter template. There appears to be an easy way to do this - there is a button at the bottom of the Master Source List (View = Master Lists = Source) to "Combine Highlighted Source with Another in the List":
I clicked that button, then it said "Highlight Destination Source, Then Click this Button" and I did that, and got this screen:
UPDATED 31 January: Noticed that two screens were out of order, fixed it! The message box says:
"Basic Style and Template Style sources cannot be combined. You need to select all Basic Style sources or all Template Style sources. Don't mix the two.
"Would you like to turn on the display of Template ID's to make it easier to see which sources can be combined?"
Well, that didn't work. Is there another way to combine two master sources of different types? I checked the "Options" button in the Master Source List and that didn't work (presumably because the two Source citations were not exactly equal to each other) either.
So I still have a major dilemma:
Do I accept the fact that I can't combine the Basic Source and SourceWriter Source data, and stick with the Basic source? The benefit here is I can probably put information into the Basic Source template fields to closely match Evidence! Explained models, without using the SourceWriter templates. The downside is that the Subsequent Citations and Bibliography entries will not be correct in a report created by Legacy Family Tree 7.
On the other hand, if I convert all 20,000+ source citations to the Legacy SourceWriter templates (which will be a major time effort), I would have Evidence! Explained quality source citations (with minor punctuation problems) for Footnotes/Endnotes, Subsequent and Bibliography entries. However, whenever I export a Legacy Family Tree 7 database as a GEDCOM file to another software program (for whatever reason) or to an online database (I have about ten out in the genealogy world right now), all source citations will be transferred in a Basic Source format due to the limitations of the GEDCOM 5.5 standard.
Will another program read the Legacy Family Tree 7 native format file? Yes - RootsMagic 4 can do that (it says...). I think that I will explore what happens if I import the LFT7 file into RootsMagic 4 to see if the sources come across in a template form, or if a Basic Source form and a Template Source form can be combined easily.
The Seaver Source Citation Search for Perfection continues... stay tuned!
My dilemma now is this: I have over 20,000 sources citations in over 650 Master Sources, but all of the Master Sources (except the ones I've created recently using the SourceWriter) are Basic Sources because they came across in the GEDCOM file in that format (since GEDCOM has fairly rigid tag fields).
My idea was to create a Template Source for many of the Master Sources, then combine or merge all of the citations in Basic Sources into the Template Source. Here was the process I tried to use:
I created a Template Source for the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 online database using the "Death Records = Death register = Created at state/provincial level = Online image" template in SourceWriter:
The resulting Source Citations for this source using the SourceWriter template are:
Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, ; digital image, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org).
Subsequent Citation:
Massachusetts Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, .
Bibliography:
Massachusetts. State Archives. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. http://www.AmericanAncestors.org: 2004.
Well, those are not perfect, are they? The problems I have include:
* In the Footnote/Endnote, there is a comma after "1910."
* In the Subsequent citation, there is the word "Massachusetts" before the name of the database (caused by putting the Jurisdiction State in the field in the template)
* In the Subsequent citation, there is an extra comma after "1910."
* In the Bibliography, the word "Massachusetts" has a period after it (again, the Jurisdiction State entry in the template).
I attempted to duplicate the Legacy SourceWriter template citation in the Basic Source Citation, with this result:
The resulting Source Citations for this source using the Basic Source template are:
Footnote/Endnote Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
Subsequent Citation:
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
Bibliography
Massachusetts State Archives, Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 [online database],
Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org) , 2004.
The problems I see with this set of Basic Source Citations include:
* They are not exactly what the Evidence! Explained model for this type of source citation shows, but it is close. I can probably edit it to be closer to the EE models.
* There is no extraneous punctuation in the citations
* The website name is not italicized as in the SourceWriter template and EE model.
* The Subsequent Citation is in an improper format (since it wasn't created from a SourceWriter template)
* The Bibliography entry is in an improper format (since it wasn't created from a SourceWriter template).
Be that as it may, I want to combine all 1,423 of the source citations made with the Free-form template with the one made by the SourceWriter template. There appears to be an easy way to do this - there is a button at the bottom of the Master Source List (View = Master Lists = Source) to "Combine Highlighted Source with Another in the List":
I clicked that button, then it said "Highlight Destination Source, Then Click this Button" and I did that, and got this screen:
UPDATED 31 January: Noticed that two screens were out of order, fixed it! The message box says:
"Basic Style and Template Style sources cannot be combined. You need to select all Basic Style sources or all Template Style sources. Don't mix the two.
"Would you like to turn on the display of Template ID's to make it easier to see which sources can be combined?"
Well, that didn't work. Is there another way to combine two master sources of different types? I checked the "Options" button in the Master Source List and that didn't work (presumably because the two Source citations were not exactly equal to each other) either.
So I still have a major dilemma:
Do I accept the fact that I can't combine the Basic Source and SourceWriter Source data, and stick with the Basic source? The benefit here is I can probably put information into the Basic Source template fields to closely match Evidence! Explained models, without using the SourceWriter templates. The downside is that the Subsequent Citations and Bibliography entries will not be correct in a report created by Legacy Family Tree 7.
On the other hand, if I convert all 20,000+ source citations to the Legacy SourceWriter templates (which will be a major time effort), I would have Evidence! Explained quality source citations (with minor punctuation problems) for Footnotes/Endnotes, Subsequent and Bibliography entries. However, whenever I export a Legacy Family Tree 7 database as a GEDCOM file to another software program (for whatever reason) or to an online database (I have about ten out in the genealogy world right now), all source citations will be transferred in a Basic Source format due to the limitations of the GEDCOM 5.5 standard.
Will another program read the Legacy Family Tree 7 native format file? Yes - RootsMagic 4 can do that (it says...). I think that I will explore what happens if I import the LFT7 file into RootsMagic 4 to see if the sources come across in a template form, or if a Basic Source form and a Template Source form can be combined easily.
The Seaver Source Citation Search for Perfection continues... stay tuned!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
2011 Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes
Ancestry.com has another "Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes" contest going at http://www.ancestry.com/wdytya2011
The site says:
"You could win a $20,000 journey to your family's homeland.
"Ancestry.com is partnering with NBC to help celebrities discover their family stories in Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? and giving you a chance to win an amazing experience of your own.
"The Grand Prize includes $20,000 in travel money, plus:
"For additional chances to win, come back and enter once a day through April 8, 2011."
"The Grand Prize includes $20,000 in travel money, plus:
- Up to 8 hours of consultation time with an expert genealogist
- Help from up to 5 experts in fields relevant to your family history
- A yearlong Ancestry.com World Deluxe membership for you and 5 family members
"For additional chances to win, come back and enter once a day through April 8, 2011."
The Official Rules are here. No purchase is necessary.
Each time you click on the link, you will have to enter your email address, name and mail address. You can earn another entry by adding five email addresses of friends.
Hat tip to Thomas MacEntee on the Geneabloggers blog for alerting the geneablogging world to this promotion.
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