CGSSD Meeting on Saturday, 21 July: "Photo Restoration Workshop"

The July meeting of the Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego (CGSSD) is on Saturday, 21 July from 9:00 a.m. to noon on the campus of UCSD, University of California, San Diego. See our map page for directions.

Here are the details:

9:00   - User Groups: Legacy. SIG: DNA Genealogy.

10:00 - Break, refreshments.

10:15 - Announcements followed by program:

Photo Restoration Workshop: Do It Yourself! with Dona Hale Ritchie

Workshop Description:

Learn the basics of restoring heritage photos on your own, using Photoshop (the full CS version, Photoshop Elements, or Photoshop Express Online). There are other tools you can use, some are free online like the last mentioned; use what you have, that will accomplish your goals.

For this workshop, Dona will work only in Photoshop CS4, but most techniques are applicable to Elements and Express, there just may be different ways of getting to them and using the tools in those applications. If you have some version of Photoshop, have it on your laptop and bring it to the workshop so you can work along with the lesson. If you have another application, feel free to use that, she just won't be able to answer questions about what the tools are or how to use them. You can choose to follow along in the online version of Photoshop Express (free to use, but you must register first) at http://www.photoshop.com/tools. Or, if you just want to watch the workshop without following along, you can do that as well.

Dona will be addressing some basic Photoshop tools that will help you obtain good results (a clear and useable reproduction) from less-than-perfect original photos; correction of color shifts in mid 1900s color photos; and correcting common problems such as fading, dust & scratches, cracks and folds, etc. She will also show you some more advanced tools that you can use on your files that will definitely improve the look of your reproductions, especially if you intend to include them in a printed book.

The sample files Dona will be using are available for you to download and work on during the workshop so that you see for yourself the effects that can be accomplished. Please have them downloaded and available on your laptop, along with your photo application, before the day of the workshop.

The album (all three photos): 


http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv349/DonaRitchie/CGSSDworkshop

Individual links:

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv349/DonaRitchie/CGSSDworkshop/rudolph.jpg

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv349/DonaRitchie/CGSSDworkshop/KateMargTom.jpg

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv349/DonaRitchie/CGSSDworkshop/DonaPam6-58.jpg
               
About Dona:

Dona has been researching her family history for 30 years, and has inherited a gold mine of heritage photos to go with this research. A lifelong interest in Photography and art, and a career as a freelance graphic designer has provided the skills to do extensive photo restoration on her own photos and has helped her assist others with their family history books (publication design, production and editing, including photo fixing). A project with a Ritchie cousin is currently in the works. Further knowledge of Photoshop and other applications has been invaluable in her current pursuit—designing digital scrapbooking kits.

We meet at the Robinson Auditorium complex on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla. From North Torrey Pines Road, turn at Pangea Drive into UCSD. Free parking is available in the parking garage on the left; use any space other than those specifically reserved for UCSD vehicles. Signs will mark directions to our meeting room. Please refer to our website www.cgssd.org; or the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies website (click here) for driving directions and a map.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/cgssd-meeting-on-saturday-21-july-photo.html

Updated 1 p.m.  Links corrected per Dona.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 214: Geraldine Seaver's Graduation Picture

 I am posting photographs from my family collections for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday (you know me, I can't go wordless!).    

Here is a photograph from the Geraldine Seaver Remley family collection handed down from my aunt in 2007 after her passing. 

I think that this is the graduation picture from Leominster High School in 1935 for my aunt, Geraldine Seaver (1917-2007).

Gerry is all grown up -age 18 in 1935 - and off to Lowell Teacher's College in the fall of 1935.  

I love this picture - the smile, the confidence, the beauty.  She was truly a beautiful person throughout her life - positive, supporting, loving, happy.

The URL For this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-214.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 4: Seaver in California, Part 2

I proposed a methodology for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of the 1940 United States Census indexes on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org in 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 1: Methodology. 

In 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 2: Carringer in California, I displayed my comparison tables and found that Ancestry had 8 more Carringer entries than FamilySearch, and my judgment was that Ancestry was more correct on 7 of them, and FamilySearch for one..

In 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 3: Seaver in California, Part 1, I displayed my comparison table for Seaver entries in California, and found that FamilySearch had 22 more entries (147 entries) than Ancestry.com (125 entries).  I analyzed all of the Ancestry unique entries, plus the ones that disagreed but were indexed by name correctly.  My judgment for accuracy tally in this post was: Ancestry = 1, FamilySearch = 7, Both wrong = 2, No decision = 3.

This is the second of three posts for Seaver in California, and I'm going to work with the first 8 (of 16) families indexed as Seaver on FamilySearch, but which did not appear on Ancestry.com.  

Here is the table for this group:

The discussion on each of these is:

*  Marcus D. Seaver and his wife Laura (ED 19-710, page 18B) was indexed as "Seave" by Ancestry.com.  

IMHO, that says"Seaver", although there is some blemish on the page over the "er" of the surname. FamilySearch gets the nod here.

*  Fred E. and Ella H. Seaver (ED 803B, page 61B) were indexed as "Seaber" by Ancestry.com.

IMHO, this is not Seaber, but it may not be Seaver either.  I didn't see any small "v"s on the page for comparison.  If I look at that for awhile, I see Seaoer, although that makes no sense.  I'm going to call this one as both wrong.

*  George M. and Martin H. Seaver (ED 21-45, page 1A) were indexed as Beaver on Ancestry.com.  

This one could be Beaver, Reaver or Seaver.  The R's in the name above the entry are not exactly the same as the first letter of Reaver/Beaver. The first letter is different from the "S" in Son.  If it's a "B" then it's different from another name beginning with B earlier on the page.    I'm going to call this one even.

* Le Roy, Clara Mae and  Roy A. Seaver (ED 30-83, page 8A) were indexed as Seaverns on Ancestry.com.

I really don't see an "n" on the end of this name.  FamilySearch gets this one.

*  Mary Seaver (ED 59-28, page 8B) is indexed as Leaver on Ancestry.com.  After comparing other "S" and "L" entries on the page, I'm pretty sure that it is an "S."  FamilySearch takes this one.

*  E.J. Seaver (ED 62-120,page 1A) were indexed as Eaver on Ancestry.com.

This is pretty clearly "Seaver" and not "Eaver."  FamilySearch gets this one.

*  Addie E. Seaver (ED 59-92, page 8A) was indexed as "Seever" on Ancestry.com.

I read the above as "Seaver" but I can see how someone would index it as "Seever."  FamilySearch wins this one too.

* Byron D. Seaver (ED 60-742, page 84A) was indexed as "Sewer" on Ancestry.com.

I would have indexed this as"Seaver" with no questions asked. FamilySearch gets the nod here.

For this portion of the Seaver surname indexing in California, I counted up:  Ancestry = 0, FamilySearch = 8, no decision =  4.

I will post the rest of this list in the next post in this series.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/1940-us-census-index-comparisons-post-4.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 3: Seaver in California,Part 1

I proposed a methodology for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of the 1940 United States Census indexes on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org in 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 1: Methodology. 

In 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 2: Carringer in California, I displayed my comparison tables and found that Ancestry had 8 more Carringer entries than FamilySearch, and my judgment was that Ancestry was more correct on 7 of them.

For my second example, I am going to use the Seaver surname in California.  I'm going to do this in two parts, since there were 125 matches on Ancestry.com and 147 matches on FamilySearch.  This post will discuss the entries found only in Ancestry, and the next post will discuss the entries found only on FamilySearch.

Of the 125 matches on Ancestry.com, there were 6 names, in five families, that were not on FamilySearch:

Taking them one at a time:

*  Frances Seaver (ED 19-247, Page 11A) is indexed as Seaver on Ancestry, and Searer on FamilySearch.  

If I was indexing it, I would have said it was Searer.  After looking on the page for examples of "v" and "r" to choose.  IMHO, FamilySearch got it right.

*  Carl A. Seaver and Edith L. Seaver (ED 60-273, page 11A) is indexed as Seaver on Ancestry, and Deaver on FamilySearch.  

If I was indexing it, I would have said Reaver.  So, both get it wrong, IMHO.

*  Ralph C. Seaver (ED 42-10, page7B) is indexed as Seaver on Ancestry, and Weaver on FamilySearch.

This one is really difficult because of the letter or check mark overwriting the first letter.  Looking at the letter under the overwrite, I think it is Weaver.  I vote for FamilySearch.

*  Ella O. Seaver (ED 30-117, Page 1B) is indexed as Ella on FamilySearch.

The "O" for Ella is obviously an indicator that she gave the information, and it's not a middle initial.  However, I can see why it might have been indexed as a middle name, since her daughter also had the"gave the information" mark (and no middle initial in the index).  FamilySearch got it right, IMHO.

*  Cora L. Seaver (born 1873 in Indiana) was indexed in Ancestry.com as residing in California, but she actually resided in Kokomo, Howard, Indiana.  This is an Ancestry linking error, I think.

There are also conflicts on names spelling and ages on some entries, including:

*  Mennie E. Seaver (ED 1-37, page 3B) was indexed as "Minnie" on FamilySearch.

I think that this is a tossup - there's no dot for an "i," but there is no loop for an "e". Her name is almost certainly Minnie.  No decision here.

*  Mrs. B.D. Seaver (ED 60-874, page 3B) was indexed as "B.D." on FamilySearch.

I'm guessing that FamilySearch put Mrs. in the Title field.  I'm not going to ding either for this one.

*  Margarete Seaver (ED 60-174, page 64B) was indexed as "Margurite" on FamilySearch.

The name above looks to me like Marguriite.  She is one of the sampling lines, and the name in the sampling line is clearly "Marguerite."  Both get it wrong in my book. 

*  Lloyd H. Seaver and Hugh H. (ED 60-6, page 17A) are indexed as Lloyd W. and Hugh W. on FamilySearch.

I'm with FamilySearch on this one.  Check out the H in Hugh's first name.  

*  Olif W. Seaver (ED 38-444, page 61B) was indexed as "Clif" on FamilySearch.

I'm with FamilySearch on this one.

*  Grorge Seaver (ED 16-848, page 14A) is indexed as "George" on FamilySearch.  


It is easily "George" (just a missed typo on Ancestry) so FamilySearch gets this one.

*  Charles Seaver Junior (ED 60-197, page 14B) is indexed as Charles Seaver (probably with Junior in the Title field).  I'm not going to ding anyone here.

*  Gery Edgar Seaver (ED 33-58, page 9A) is indexed as Gary Edgar Seaver on FamilySearch.

FamilySearch got this one right, I think!  

*  Sally Seaver (ED 41-14, page 7B) is indexed as born in 1939 on Ancestry, ad born in 1940 on FamilySearch.  The entry says she is age 9/12, so born in 1939.  Ancestry wins this one.

Note:  FamilySearch Indexers were instructed to use "0" as the age for ages less than one year.

So the partial tally for Seaver in California to date is Ancestry= 1, FamilySearch = 7, Both wrong = 2, No decision = 3.

I will do the Seaver entries only in FamilySearch in the next post.  

There was a comment on the Carringer post about dinging the provider for each person, rather than for just the one written surname.  I look at it this way - if I search for any of those persons, the wrong surname is indexed for it, and the index is incorrect.  My choice!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/1940-us-census-index-comparisons-post-3.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

See "Discovering Jane's Roots..." at GSNOCC meeting on Wednesday, 18 July

I will be presenting my new program, "Discovering Jane's Roots in California, Australia and England" at the Genealogical Society of North Orange County California (GSNOCC) meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 July in Yorba Linda, California.  The meeting is at the Yorba Linda Community Center, 4501 Casa Loma Avenue (at Imperial Highway) - see map here.

The presentation summary is:

"In this presentation, Randy will explore the research journey to find the ancestors of his wife's great-grandmother, Jane (Whittle) McKnew (1847-1921).  She married in Gold Country, had a family of 11 children, survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and died in San Francisco.  Jane was born in Australia to parents who were born and married in England.  Most of the research was done with online resources and in a collaborative environment.  Come watch Randy unveil a fascinating family history worthy of a 'Who Do You Think You Are?' television episode."

This will be my wife's introduction to the life and ancestry of her great-grandmother.  It will be interesting to see her reaction to the information.

I hope that my readers in the Orange County area can attend this program.  Please be sure to say hello at the meeting!

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/see-discovering-janes-roots-at-gsnocc.html

Copyright (2012), Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday's Tip - Check Our Leslie Lawson's Links Lists

This week's Tuesday's Tip is:  Check out Leslie Brinkley Lawson's Toolbox at http://www.lawsonresearch.net/toolbox.html - it has genealogy links for many states, with more on the way.

Leslie Brinkley Lawson is a forensic genealogist (http://www.lawsonresearch.net/),a genealogy presenter (http://www.lawsonresearch.net/lectures.html), genealogy blogger (http://lawsonresearch.blogspot.com/), and researcher (http://www.lawsonresearch.net/services-offered.html).  

She has been putting together lists of online genealogy resources for each state in her Toolbox.  The top of the Toolbox page (http://www.lawsonresearch.net/toolbox.html) on her site looks like this:

A bit further down, the list of states with genealogy links is in the right sidebar:

For each state, there are links to websites and databases, including the FamilySearch Research Wiki, Ancestry.com databases, Cyndi's List, USGenWeb sites, state and local archives, genealogical and historical societies, and much more.

Leslie has worked her way from Alabama through Oregon, and will probably go all the way through Wyoming in the coming months.

This set of links may provide a researcher with research opportunities that they were unaware of.

I appreciate the work that Leslie is doing with these state link collections. My guess is that she will appreciate additions and corrections to her lists from readers.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/tuesdays-tip-check-our-leslie-lawsons.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 2: Carringer in California

I proposed a methodology for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of the 1940 United States Census indexes on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org in 1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 1: Methodology.

My first attempt at doing this comparison was to compare the Carringer surname (exact spelling) in California.  

Using my methodology described, I created Table 1 with all of the names found doing a search on Ancestry.com (only part of it displayed below):

When the person listed in the Ancestry matches does not appear in the FamilySearch.org index, I put an "X" in column 5 and left column 6 blank so that I could easily see who was missing in the FamilySearch matches.  

There were 28 matches for "Carringer" surname in California on Ancestry.com, and 20 matches on FamilySearch.  All 20 matches on FamilySearch had an entry on Ancestry.  Of the 20 similar entries on both lists, there were two differences in the name, date or birthplace index entries.   These were:

*  Ancestry #5 (FS #16): "Mrs. Nora" on A, vs. "Nora" on FS
* Ancestry#13 (FS 7):  "Abbie Della" born 1812 on A, born 1862 on FS (FS is right in this case)

Ancestry had 8 more entries on the match list for "Carringer" in California.  These 8 names are in three families in the census. We'll look at these one at a time:


*  Edward J. Carringer, born 1902 in IL (California ED 38-46, Page 88B):

Ancestry.com indexed the entry as "Edward J. Carringer."  FamilySearch indexed it as "Edward J. Carrigan."  I think that I would have indexed it as Carrigan.  Best indexer:  FamilySearch.

*  The Virgil Carringer family (Virgil, Evelyn, Marie) (California ED 60-1038, Page 4B):

Ancestry.com indexed this surname entry as "Carringer."  FamilySearch indexed it as "Larrings." I would have indexed it as "Carringer" based on similar capital C entries on the census page. Best indexer:  Ancestry (3 entries)

*  The Mary Carringer family (MAry, Gladys, Ruth, June) (California ED 60-1038, Page 10A):

Ancestry.com indexed this surname entry as "Carringer."  FamilySearch indexed it as "Garringer." I would have indexed it as "Carringer" based on similar capital C entries on the census page. Best indexer:  Ancestry (4 entries).

Here is my Table 2 with the families with different index entries:

The families with matches on Ancestry, but not on FamilySearch, are listed as A-1, A-2, A-3, etc.  If there had been matches in FamilySearch that were not listed on Ancestry, I would have termed the families as F-1, F-2, F-3, etc.  

I hope to do one of these posts every day for the next week or so.  I'm using surnames of interest to me. The results may vary from surname to surname, or from state to state.

To date, my score is Ancestry 7, FamilySearch 1.

If readers want an MSWord document with blank table fields, please email me at rjseaver@cox.net or create your own based on my examples above.  I can get 30 lines on Table 1 on a portrait page. I've found it easiest to type right into the Table rather than writing the data down in longhand.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/1940-us-census-index-comparisons-post-2.html

Copyright (c) 2012), Randall J. Seaver

1940 U.S. Census Index Comparisons - Post 1: Methodology

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are both indexing the 1940 United States Census, and both are on track to complete the indexing by September 2012.  That is a phenomenal achievement, and way before most of us thought that it would be completed.

So the question becomes:  Which index is better? 

The only way to determine that is to test both indexes for consistency and accuracy.  I've started doing it on a small scale, and I hope that other researchers will do it also, since I'm not going to do anything close to 132 million names!  Maybe a few hundred... We can probably get a decent statistical sample by doing several thousand in total.

Here is the methodology I'm using:

1)  Select a state that is indexed on both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

2)  Select a surname to search exactly.  I recommend that it be a surname that is not high on the frequency of surname list.  Fortunately, my main surname lines are uncommon.

3)  Search on Ancestry.com for the surname (exact spelling) in the state of choice.  Ancestry.com lists the matches by birth year rather than first name or county or ED.

4)  Make a table with two columns, one for Ancestry, the other for FamilySearch.  Write down the names 1 to N, along with birth year and birth state.  You might make a table in your word processor or in a spreadsheet program.

5)  Search on FamilySearch.org for the surname (exact spelling) in the state of choice.  FamilySearch.org seems to list the matches by county and ED rather than by birth year or first name.

6)  Start at the top of the FamilySearch match list, note the name and birth year of the persons, and   add a check mark or note in the FamilySearch column on the table that the person is on the FamilySearch matches.  I number the matches from both sites.  In one case, #1 on Ancestry was #20 on FamilySearch because of the different match listing methods used.

7)  If an entry on the FamilySearch match list is not on the Ancestry list, add that information to the table.  

8)  At this point, we now have a list that shows the names, birth date, birthplace of persons on both lists, and persons that are only on the Ancestry list, and persons that are only on the FamilySearch list.  Group those persons together as families if possible.


9)  Make a second table that includes only the families that were missed on either Ancestry or FamilySearch.  The columns might include an index number, the family names, the ED and page numbers, the Ancestry indexed name, the FamilySearch indexed name, and what you think the name is.

10)  For those only on the Ancestry.com list, note the Enumeration District (ED)  number and Page number for those persons, and use the ED and page number to find them on FamilySearch to ensure the page image is present and see if you can figure out how it might have been indexed on FamilySearch.  Do this same thing for those only on the FamilySearch.org list.

11) The next step is the most difficult - trying to find out how the persons that were indexed on Ancestry but not on FamilySearch were indexed on FamilySearch.  And vice versa - how were the persons indexed on FamilySearch indexed on Ancestry.com.

12)  Report your findings.  Report on how many were the same in both indexes, and what you found were the differences for the names not on both lists.  Which index seemed the most correct, in your opinion?  Write your own blog posts or add comments to this post.  Only by making comparisons like this can we answer the question above.  

We all know that Ancestry.com has a way to add changes to their index.  It's not clear to me if FamilySearch.org will have that the capability to add changes to their index.

I will show the results of my first effort to do these comparisons in my next post.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/1940-us-census-index-comparisons-post-1.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Amanuensis Monday - the Codicil of Alvina M. Seaver

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 codicil to the will of Alvina Matilda (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver, the third wife and widow of Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).  I posted the will transcription last week in Amanuensis Monday - the Will of Alvina Seaver (1848-1923).

Alvina (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver died in Clinton, Massachusetts on 20 April 1923, testate, and her probate papers are in Worcester County Probate Records, Probate Packet B-80132 (accessed and copied at Worcester County, Massachusetts Court House in 1991).  Her handwritten and signed codicil to her will reads (handwritten portions in italics):

I, Alvina M. Seaver, of Clinton, Massachusetts, make this codicil to my last will dated January 3, 1923.

I give the sum of two thousand dollars ($2000) to my brother, Frank Bradley, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  This is in addition to the sum of one thousand dollars ($1000) given him in said will, and in case of his death or the death of both him and his wife before my death is to be given in accordance with the directions concerning said bequest in said will.


I five my bracelets and my third watch chain to my nephew, Leland H. Bradley, of Madrid, Iowa.

I revoke the direction in said will that my executor should distribute the rest of my jewelry, clothing, furniture and household effects to my brother Frank Bradley, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

In all other respects I confirm the provisions of said will.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and in the presence of three witnesses declare this to be the first codicil to my last will this seventeenth day of March, 1923.

.....................  Alvina M. Seaver

On this seventeenth day of March in 1923,Alvina M. Seaver, of Clinton, Massachusetts, signed the foregoing instrument in our presence, declaring it to be a codicil to her last will and as witnesses whereof we three do now at her request, in her presence, and in the presence of each other subscribe our names.


..................... Anna B. Lyman
..................... Rubie W. Morrison
..................... Harold L. French

This is a fairly straightforward codicil, but it shifted more money to her brother and removed him from the bequest for her jewelry, clothing, furniture and household effects.  

I wonder if I will ever be contacted by descendants of Alvina's relatives?  Or descendants of the friends that she bequeathed money to.  It might be interesting if there were family heirlooms with her initials on them, or someone that remembers their parent or grandparent talking about her.

I will transcribe the heirs-at-law document next week for Alvina M. (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Chula Vista Genealogical Society Update

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society has several events each month for genealogy researchers.  The most recent entries on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog include:

*  Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - July 2012

* "Flags of the United States" Program Summary - 27 June 2012

*  CVGS Newsletter for July is Published

*  CVGS Research Group Summary - 11 July 2012

As many of my Genea-Musings readers know, I am the Newsletter Editor and ResearchChair for CVGS.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/07/chula-vista-genealogical-society-update.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver