With a significant number of colonial New England ancestors (about 80% of my known ancestors 10 generations back), I have an LNU problem with certain female given names.
What's an LNU? It's a Last Name Unknown.
Why do I not know their last names? Well, I haven't found any sourced records on my own, and other researchers, including many professionals, have been unable to find the last name of many females in either English or colonial New England source records. It's one of those two things - either brick wall or a dead end.
For example, here are my (and my wife's) ancestral Mary LNU persons:
* Mary (???? to ????), married to Thomas Carter (1610-1676), of Salisbury, Mass.
* Mary (???? to ????), married to John Lewis (1630-1690), of Westerly, R.I.
* Mary (???? to ????), married to John Paul (???? to ????), of Ireland and New Brunswick, had a son John Paul (1824-1879) of San Francisco, Calif.
* Mary (????-????), married to Thomas Richardson (1523-????), of Hertfordshire.
* Mary (???? to ????), married to John Garnzey (????-????), of Somerset.
* Mary (???? to ????), married to William Davis (????-????), who had a daughter Abigail Davis (1637 to 1682), who married Edward Richmond (1632-1696) of Little Compton, R.I.
* Mary (???? to 1613), married to Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644), Mayflower passenger.
* Mary (???? to 1645), married to Richard Kent (1586-1654) of Newbury, Mass.
* Mary (???? to 1659), married to John Smith (1600-1669) of Lancaster, Mass.
* Mary (???? to 1668), married to Henry Chickering (1565-1627) of Suffolk, England.
* Mary (???? to 1677), married to Nathan Aldous (1592-1676) of Dedham, Mass.
* Mary (1552 to 1614), married to Matthew Wing (1549-1614) of Banbury, Oxfordshire.
* Mary (1569 to 1627), married to William Brewster (1566-1644), of Plymouth, Mass.
* Mary (1584 to ????), married to George Rayment (1580-1651) of Glastonbury, Somerset.
* Mary (1586 to 1665), married to Thomas Carter (1566-1652) of Charlestown, Mass.
* Mary (1595 to 1663), married to Anthony Fisher (1591-1671) of Dorchester, Mass.
* Mary (1600 to 1675), married to George Hubbard (1600-1683) of Guilford, Conn.
* Mary (1601 to 1681), married to John Cutler (1600-1637) of Hingham, Mass.
* Mary (1605 to 1674), married to Henry Howland (1604-1671), of Duxbury, Mass.
* Mary (1606 to ????), married to Thomas Prather (1606-????) of Norfolk, Va.
* Mary (1607 to 1655), married to Michael Bacon (1608-1688), of Woburn, Mass.
* Mary (1612 to ????), married to John Gorton (1612-1676), of Roxbury, Mass.
* Mary (1612 to 1670), married to Thomas Richardson (1608-1651) of Woburn, Mass.
* Mary (1612 to 1692), married to Christopher Grant (1608-1685), of Watertown, Mass.
* Mary (1619 to 1702), married to Thomas Flegg (1621-1698) of Watertown, Mass.
* Mary (1625 to 1660), married to Christopher Bartlett (1624-1670) of Newbury, Mass.
* Mary (1625 to 1699), married Thomas fish (1619-1687) of Portsmouth, R.I.
* Mary (1627 to 1694), married to John Bowers (1626-1676), of Medfield, Mass.
* Mary (1628 to ????), married to Edward Greenman (1616-1688) of Newport, R.I.
* Mary (1628 to 1696), married to Jean Crocheron (1625-1696) of Staten Island, N.Y.
* Mary (1629 to 1686), married to Richard Pray (1629-1693) of Providence, R.I.
* Mary (1629 to 1693), married to Crispus Brewer (1626-1707) of Lynn, Mass.
* Mary (1632 to 1681), married to John Wooden (1620-1721), of Berkeley, S.C.
* Mary (1633 to 1711), married to John Pearce (1632-1692) of Portsmouth, R.I.
* Mary (1639 to 1677), married to Thomas Follansbee (1637-1726) of Newbury, Mass.
* Mary (1688 to ????), married to William Hawkins (1676-1744), of Providence, R.I.
* Mary (1700 to 1738), married to Johannes Trimmer (1700-1748) of Hunterdon, N.J.
* Mary (1775 to 1806), married to Nathan McKnew (1771-1834) of Prince George's, Md.
* Mary (???? to ????), married to Matthew Colby (1530-1591) of Lincolnshire.
* Mary (1585 to ????), married to Henry Ambrose (1584-1631) of Suffolk.
* Mary (1618 to 1686),, married to Thomas Bloomfield (1615-1684), of Woodbridge, N.J.
* Mary (1630 to 1702), married to Richard Higgins (1603-1675) of Piscataway, N.J.
Only 42 Mary LNUs in my database who are ancestors! I have many more Marys who are not ancestors, but are spouses of siblings or cousins of my ancestors.
I fear that my genealogy work will never be finished, but I don't lie awake at night worrying about it. I doubt that very many of their maiden names will ever be found. I'll leave these ladies to someone else to find their maiden names and their connection to English royalty and/or Adam and Eve.
Surely there's a really big mother of all genealogy databases out there with the name of every -person who ever lived throughout history, right? Seems to me I heard someone claim that at a genealogy conference last year!
So why did I even bother listing them? Well, someone may have more, or better, information than I do, and I figured it couldn't hurt to put the names out there in hopes that someone will see it and be able to help me out. No guts, no glory!
If anyone has sourced information about any of the Mary LNUs listed above, please let me know so I can add the information to my database and perhaps we can work together on our Mary's family line.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/listing-my-mary-lnu-elusive-ancestors.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
SDGS Meeting on Saturday, 10 August: Mary Van Orsdol
The San Diego Genealogical Society monthly meeting is on Saturday, 10 August 2013, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the St. Andrew's Lutheran Church (8350 Lake Murray Blvd, at Jackson Drive) in San Diego.
The speaker will be Mary Van Orsdol, who is the Senior Librarian for Genealogy & Carlsbad History at the Carlsbad (CA) City Library. She received her B.A. in History from the University of California, San Diego, and her M.A. in American History from the University of Minnesota. She received her M.L.S. from UCLA and has worked as a librarian for over 30 years. Mary has been head of the Genealogy Division at Carlsbad City Library since 1997 and head of the Carlsbad History Collection since 2012. She researches her own family and has a strong research background in New Netherland. Her two talks will be:
1) "Library Skills for Genealogists, or How To Use the Carlsbad City Library Genealogy Collection Effectively." The Genealogy Collection of the Carlsbad City Library is nearly forty years old and includes over 25,000 books. Unlocking the secrets can be challenging. Mary will discuss how to use the collection effectively and provide tips and advice on search strategies.
2) "New Netherland Research." Although New Netherland as a political unit lasted only about 60 years, its influence on the developing American society was significant. Researching New Netherland ancestors is exciting and challenging and requires an understanding of both Dutch and English record groups. Mary will discuss several important concepts, including personal names, naming patterns, and patronymics, and will explore the various record groups needed to construct a family history of these early American colonists. She has prepared an extensive bibliography of New Netherland resources that can be used as a checklist for research.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/sdgs-meeting-on-saturday-10-august-mary.html
The speaker will be Mary Van Orsdol, who is the Senior Librarian for Genealogy & Carlsbad History at the Carlsbad (CA) City Library. She received her B.A. in History from the University of California, San Diego, and her M.A. in American History from the University of Minnesota. She received her M.L.S. from UCLA and has worked as a librarian for over 30 years. Mary has been head of the Genealogy Division at Carlsbad City Library since 1997 and head of the Carlsbad History Collection since 2012. She researches her own family and has a strong research background in New Netherland. Her two talks will be:
1) "Library Skills for Genealogists, or How To Use the Carlsbad City Library Genealogy Collection Effectively." The Genealogy Collection of the Carlsbad City Library is nearly forty years old and includes over 25,000 books. Unlocking the secrets can be challenging. Mary will discuss how to use the collection effectively and provide tips and advice on search strategies.
2) "New Netherland Research." Although New Netherland as a political unit lasted only about 60 years, its influence on the developing American society was significant. Researching New Netherland ancestors is exciting and challenging and requires an understanding of both Dutch and English record groups. Mary will discuss several important concepts, including personal names, naming patterns, and patronymics, and will explore the various record groups needed to construct a family history of these early American colonists. She has prepared an extensive bibliography of New Netherland resources that can be used as a checklist for research.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/sdgs-meeting-on-saturday-10-august-mary.html
(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 268: Linda and Randy on the Deck
I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't Wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I am incapable of having a wordless post.
Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family photograph collection passed to me by my mother in the 1980s-1990s:
This picture shows Linda and Randy, fairly well dressed up (well, she is!), gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, standing on the back deck of the Carringer/Seaver house at 825 Harbor View Place in San Diego, with a panoramic view of San Diego Bay and beyond.
This picture was taken in the early 1990s, perhaps for our 20th or 25th wedding anniversary, or perhaps for my mother's 75th birthday in 1994. My mother probably took this picture, since it was in the photos obtained from her.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-268.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family photograph collection passed to me by my mother in the 1980s-1990s:
This picture shows Linda and Randy, fairly well dressed up (well, she is!), gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, standing on the back deck of the Carringer/Seaver house at 825 Harbor View Place in San Diego, with a panoramic view of San Diego Bay and beyond.
This picture was taken in the early 1990s, perhaps for our 20th or 25th wedding anniversary, or perhaps for my mother's 75th birthday in 1994. My mother probably took this picture, since it was in the photos obtained from her.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-268.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Contest to Win a Free Copy of Family Tree Maker 2012
I posted about the Top Ten Genealogy Software Reviews for 2013 yesterday, provided by The Top Ten Reviews website. On the website, Family Tree Maker 2012 was rated #1 in their review survey.
Before my post, I was contacted by a Top Ten Reviews employee who said they would like to offer a free copy of the Family Tree Maker 2012 genealogy software to a deserving person, and asked if I would like to run a contest to pick the winner. I said yes.
Here's the contest:
* Write an email to me, at rjseaver@cox.net, with an email title of "FTM 2012 Contest." In the email, tell me which feature of Family Tree Maker 2012 impresses you the most, or you are anxious to use. Be sure to include your name and email address.
* The contest will run from 3 PM PDT on Tuesday, 6 August, until 6 PM PDT (that's 9 PM EDT, 8 PM CDT, 7 PM MDT, 2200 GMT) on Tuesday, 13 August 2013.
* When all qualified entries are received (following the rules above), I will number them from 1 to n, and use the random number generator at www.random.org to pick a winning number between 1 and n.
* After I have a winning number, I will contact the winning entrant to inform them of their good luck, and to obtain a mailing address from them. Top Ten Reviews will send the copy of family tree Maker 2012 directly.
So, if you want a FREE copy of Family Tree Maker 2012, please enter this contest. If you don't want FTM 2012, please don't enter and give someone a chance who does want it to win it.
Thank you to The Top Ten Reviews website and personnel for offering this prize.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/contest-to-win-free-copy-of-family-tree.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Before my post, I was contacted by a Top Ten Reviews employee who said they would like to offer a free copy of the Family Tree Maker 2012 genealogy software to a deserving person, and asked if I would like to run a contest to pick the winner. I said yes.
Here's the contest:
* Write an email to me, at rjseaver@cox.net, with an email title of "FTM 2012 Contest." In the email, tell me which feature of Family Tree Maker 2012 impresses you the most, or you are anxious to use. Be sure to include your name and email address.
* The contest will run from 3 PM PDT on Tuesday, 6 August, until 6 PM PDT (that's 9 PM EDT, 8 PM CDT, 7 PM MDT, 2200 GMT) on Tuesday, 13 August 2013.
* When all qualified entries are received (following the rules above), I will number them from 1 to n, and use the random number generator at www.random.org to pick a winning number between 1 and n.
* After I have a winning number, I will contact the winning entrant to inform them of their good luck, and to obtain a mailing address from them. Top Ten Reviews will send the copy of family tree Maker 2012 directly.
So, if you want a FREE copy of Family Tree Maker 2012, please enter this contest. If you don't want FTM 2012, please don't enter and give someone a chance who does want it to win it.
Thank you to The Top Ten Reviews website and personnel for offering this prize.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/contest-to-win-free-copy-of-family-tree.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Searching for Hannah Brown's Birth Parents - Post 2
After writing Hunting for Hannah Brown's Birth Family in Colonial Massachusetts yesterday, I decided to regroup.
Here's the blank spot in my pedigree chart for the ancestors of Hannah Brown (about 1725 to before 1774), married John Phillips (1722-????) in Southborough, Mass. in 1749:
I decided to try to find my binder containing the Brown surname in New England information that I found back in the 1990s. I recalled (vaguely!) that I had copied some reports from periodicals and books, had done some probate record work, and lots of vital record book work. My thought was "I probably duplicated some research with my post, but it got me back in the Brown research."
Yep. Eureka! Bonanza! Genea-gasm? Not yet... but I found the two-inch thick binder. What did it contain? Let me list the files in a general way, and then come up with a To-Do list for further work and some lessons learned:
1) First, the literature survey:
* Maxine Phelps Lines, A Record of Some of the Descendants of Thomas Brown of Concord, Mass. (Mesa, Ariz.: the author, 1962). Accessed on FHL Microfilm 1,321,094.
* "Descendants of Henry Brown of Salisbury," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 3 (July 1908), pages 97-107.
* "Descendants of Edward Brown of Ipswich," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 3 (July 1908), pages 125-129.
* "Descendants of John Brown of Ipswich," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 4 (October 1908), pages 156-166.
* Charles C. Whitney, Some Brown Genealogy : Being Some of the Descendants of John Brown, One of the Early Settlers of Reading, Mass. (Crete, Neb.: J-B Publishing, 1973).
* Carl Boyer, 3rd, New England Colonial Families, Volume I: Brown Families of Bristol Counties, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, From the Immigrants to the Early Nineteenth Century (Newhall, Calif.: the author, 1981).
* Henry Bond, M.D., Family Memorials: Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts (Boston, Mass. : Little, Brown & Co., 1855); Browne section, pages 118-141.
* Frederick Lewis Weis, Early Generations of the Brown Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts (Lancaster, Mass.: the author, 1931), typescript.
* Goodwin Brown, Genealogical Notes, Descendants of Thomas Browne of Concord, Mass. (New York : Martin B. Brown Company, 1901.
* "Stow, Mass. Family Records," typescript, "Thomas Brown Family, 1637-1938," accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,815,621.
* A. Edward Brown, A Genealogy of One Line of Descendants of Thomas Brown of Lynn, Massachusetts (St. Joseph, Mich. : the author, 1976).
* Marcia Wiswall Lindberg, "Nicholas Browne of Lynn and Reading, Massachusetts," The Essex Genealogist, Volume 8, No. 3 (August 1988), pages 178-188.
* Harriet H. Robinson, "Nicholas Brown of Reading and some of His Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 44, No. 3 (July 1890), pages 281-283.
2) Vital Record Extractions - IGI, Town Vital Record Books, etc. These sources provided a list of Hannah Brown persons born in the 1710 to 1730 time frame, and recorded, who might be my Hannah Brown, including:
* Hannah Brown, born 3 July 1728 in Littleton to Jonathan and Sybil (Dudley) Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 9 June 1717 in Wakefield, to Josiah and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 6 December 1716 in Concord, to Thomas and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 3 November 1722 in Salisbury, to Abraham and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 7 July 1725 in Salisbury, to George and Elizabeth Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 5 January 1723 in Danvers, to Eleazer and Sarah (Putnam) Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 2 August 1723 in Gloucester, to Elisha and Hannah Brown.
* Hannah Brown, born 25 March 1727 in Concord, to John and Elizabeth Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 14 February 1724 in Concord, to Ephraim and Hannah (Wilson) Brown
3) Probate Records
* Middlesex County Probate Index; Estates from Hannah Brown to William Brown were abstracted from microfilm of the probate packets. I don't know if I did from the Aaron Brown to Hannah Brown segment!
* Worcester County Probate Index; Probate Dockets. obtained several wills of selected persons who might be Hannah Brown's parents or siblings.
4) Land Records
* Worcester County Grantee and Grantor Indexes, listed some candidate deeds to obtain. Found three Brown persons who purchased land in Westborough in 1741, and James Brown granting land in 1750 in Southborough. I need to follow up on these!
5) To-Do List:
* Match Hannah Browns in the birth records with marriage records, if possible. See if there are unmatched Hannah Browns in both the birth and marriage records. Find death records for Hannah Browns in the vital record books to eliminate candidates.
* Review the probate record information I have (e.g., see if there is a daughter Hannah mentioned with Brown or a married surname) in order to identify the best possibilities.
* Obtain and review the Worcester County land records that I mentioned previously, and get into Middlesex County land records (on FamilySearch) for candidate families.
* Review the FHL Catalog, and FamilySearch Books, for Brown families to see what has been added since 1995.
* Review Martin Hollick's book New Englanders in the 1600s to see if there are recent articles or book s published about Brown families.
6) Conclusions:
* The above To-Do list items may reveal an obvious, slam-dunk candidate for birth parents of my Hannah Brown.
* None of the above is helpful IF my Hannah Brown was not recorded in a birth record published in a town record and a town vital record book, or is not mentioned in a probate or land record.
* The major problem I think I have is: there may be no evidence of a relationship of my Hannah Brown with birth parents. Hannah's parents may continue to be blank spaces in my pedigree chart.
7) Lesson Learned:
* Review what I did in earlier years much more often! I had done many of the tasks I did yesterday, and did them better, using traditional book, periodical and manuscript records!
* Writing out the status of a research problem is really helpful - it provides the opportunity to come up with a To-Do list, think about hypotheses, and focus on candidate families.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/searching-for-hannah-browns-birth.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Here's the blank spot in my pedigree chart for the ancestors of Hannah Brown (about 1725 to before 1774), married John Phillips (1722-????) in Southborough, Mass. in 1749:
I decided to try to find my binder containing the Brown surname in New England information that I found back in the 1990s. I recalled (vaguely!) that I had copied some reports from periodicals and books, had done some probate record work, and lots of vital record book work. My thought was "I probably duplicated some research with my post, but it got me back in the Brown research."
Yep. Eureka! Bonanza! Genea-gasm? Not yet... but I found the two-inch thick binder. What did it contain? Let me list the files in a general way, and then come up with a To-Do list for further work and some lessons learned:
1) First, the literature survey:
* Maxine Phelps Lines, A Record of Some of the Descendants of Thomas Brown of Concord, Mass. (Mesa, Ariz.: the author, 1962). Accessed on FHL Microfilm 1,321,094.
* "Descendants of Henry Brown of Salisbury," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 3 (July 1908), pages 97-107.
* "Descendants of Edward Brown of Ipswich," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 3 (July 1908), pages 125-129.
* "Descendants of John Brown of Ipswich," The Essex Antiquarian, Volume XII, No. 4 (October 1908), pages 156-166.
* Charles C. Whitney, Some Brown Genealogy : Being Some of the Descendants of John Brown, One of the Early Settlers of Reading, Mass. (Crete, Neb.: J-B Publishing, 1973).
* Carl Boyer, 3rd, New England Colonial Families, Volume I: Brown Families of Bristol Counties, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, From the Immigrants to the Early Nineteenth Century (Newhall, Calif.: the author, 1981).
* Henry Bond, M.D., Family Memorials: Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts (Boston, Mass. : Little, Brown & Co., 1855); Browne section, pages 118-141.
* Frederick Lewis Weis, Early Generations of the Brown Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts (Lancaster, Mass.: the author, 1931), typescript.
* Goodwin Brown, Genealogical Notes, Descendants of Thomas Browne of Concord, Mass. (New York : Martin B. Brown Company, 1901.
* "Stow, Mass. Family Records," typescript, "Thomas Brown Family, 1637-1938," accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,815,621.
* A. Edward Brown, A Genealogy of One Line of Descendants of Thomas Brown of Lynn, Massachusetts (St. Joseph, Mich. : the author, 1976).
* Marcia Wiswall Lindberg, "Nicholas Browne of Lynn and Reading, Massachusetts," The Essex Genealogist, Volume 8, No. 3 (August 1988), pages 178-188.
* Harriet H. Robinson, "Nicholas Brown of Reading and some of His Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 44, No. 3 (July 1890), pages 281-283.
2) Vital Record Extractions - IGI, Town Vital Record Books, etc. These sources provided a list of Hannah Brown persons born in the 1710 to 1730 time frame, and recorded, who might be my Hannah Brown, including:
* Hannah Brown, born 3 July 1728 in Littleton to Jonathan and Sybil (Dudley) Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 9 June 1717 in Wakefield, to Josiah and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 6 December 1716 in Concord, to Thomas and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 3 November 1722 in Salisbury, to Abraham and Hannah Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 7 July 1725 in Salisbury, to George and Elizabeth Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 5 January 1723 in Danvers, to Eleazer and Sarah (Putnam) Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 2 August 1723 in Gloucester, to Elisha and Hannah Brown.
* Hannah Brown, born 25 March 1727 in Concord, to John and Elizabeth Brown
* Hannah Brown, born 14 February 1724 in Concord, to Ephraim and Hannah (Wilson) Brown
I also found recorded and published marriage records for Hannah Browns and tried to eliminate some of the ones above from the Birth records. I'll write on this in a later post.
* Middlesex County Probate Index; Estates from Hannah Brown to William Brown were abstracted from microfilm of the probate packets. I don't know if I did from the Aaron Brown to Hannah Brown segment!
* Worcester County Probate Index; Probate Dockets. obtained several wills of selected persons who might be Hannah Brown's parents or siblings.
4) Land Records
* Worcester County Grantee and Grantor Indexes, listed some candidate deeds to obtain. Found three Brown persons who purchased land in Westborough in 1741, and James Brown granting land in 1750 in Southborough. I need to follow up on these!
5) To-Do List:
* Match Hannah Browns in the birth records with marriage records, if possible. See if there are unmatched Hannah Browns in both the birth and marriage records. Find death records for Hannah Browns in the vital record books to eliminate candidates.
* Review the probate record information I have (e.g., see if there is a daughter Hannah mentioned with Brown or a married surname) in order to identify the best possibilities.
* Obtain and review the Worcester County land records that I mentioned previously, and get into Middlesex County land records (on FamilySearch) for candidate families.
* Review the FHL Catalog, and FamilySearch Books, for Brown families to see what has been added since 1995.
* Review Martin Hollick's book New Englanders in the 1600s to see if there are recent articles or book s published about Brown families.
6) Conclusions:
* The above To-Do list items may reveal an obvious, slam-dunk candidate for birth parents of my Hannah Brown.
* None of the above is helpful IF my Hannah Brown was not recorded in a birth record published in a town record and a town vital record book, or is not mentioned in a probate or land record.
* The major problem I think I have is: there may be no evidence of a relationship of my Hannah Brown with birth parents. Hannah's parents may continue to be blank spaces in my pedigree chart.
7) Lesson Learned:
* Review what I did in earlier years much more often! I had done many of the tasks I did yesterday, and did them better, using traditional book, periodical and manuscript records!
* Writing out the status of a research problem is really helpful - it provides the opportunity to come up with a To-Do list, think about hypotheses, and focus on candidate families.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/searching-for-hannah-browns-birth.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Genealogical Eclectica for Tuesday, 6 August
This week's collection of genealogical eclectica includes:
1) This week's WDYTYA? episode features Chelsea Handler (Tuesday, 6 August, 9 p.m. EDT/MDT/PDT, 8 p.m. CDT). You'll be able to watch it online on the WDYTYA TLC webpage a day or two after the episode is shown.
2) Did you watch the Christina Applegate episode on Who Do You Think You Are? last week? It's available on the TLC webpage at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/videos/christina-applegate-.htm.
3) Have you read the latest Evidence Explained QuickLesson #17 by Elizabeth Shown Mills on her Evidence Explained website? The title is: "The Evidence Analysis Process Map." and she uses several research examples to illustrate the finer points.
4) The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy has published Volume 3, Number 4 of their online journal, Forensic Genealogy News. You can read, and download, all of the issues of this publication here.
5) DearMYRTLE's Mastering Genealogical Proof Study Group Hangout On Air (on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V82GrJbChbQ) discusses Chapter 6 in the Thomas w. Jones book.
6) This week's Legacy Family Tree Webinar is on Wednesday, 7 August, at 2 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. CDT/12 noon MDT/11 a.m. PDT. Marian Pierre-Louis will present "Captured For All Time: Recording Family Voices to Preserve and Pass Down." Register at http://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=169.
7) Marian Pierre-Louis has a weekly online Blog Talk Radio show called Fieldstone Common (and a blog with that name too). Her show on Thursday, 8 August at 1 p.m. EDT (12 noon CDT, 11 a.m. MDT, 10 a.m. PDT) interviews author Roger Thompson about his book "From Deference to Defiance." The radio shows are archived and can be heard for free at any time.
8) The Canadian Week in Review 05 August 2013 post by Elizabeth Lapointe on the Genealogy Canada blog highlights websites, blogs, newspaper articles and other items that interest her.
9) Mick Southwick's British and Irish Genealogy blog post, Genealogy News - 3rd August, highlights recent information about British and Irish genealogy websites.
10) Jen Baldwin is hosting a weekly Who Do You Think You Are? "After The Show" discussion about the show on the InDepthGen YouTube Channel - watch last week's discussion with Gena Ortega, Michael Hait, and DearMYRTLE.
11) The writer of the I Do Genealogy blog has a ten part series (to date) on getting organized - she doesn't have a complete list of them in one place though - you have to go post by post. The Step 10 post is here, and you can work your way back in time to find them all.
12) A genealogy funny for my readers (and so that there's a graphic when this post is published):
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/genealogical-eclectica-for-tuesday-6.html
copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
1) This week's WDYTYA? episode features Chelsea Handler (Tuesday, 6 August, 9 p.m. EDT/MDT/PDT, 8 p.m. CDT). You'll be able to watch it online on the WDYTYA TLC webpage a day or two after the episode is shown.
2) Did you watch the Christina Applegate episode on Who Do You Think You Are? last week? It's available on the TLC webpage at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/videos/christina-applegate-.htm.
3) Have you read the latest Evidence Explained QuickLesson #17 by Elizabeth Shown Mills on her Evidence Explained website? The title is: "The Evidence Analysis Process Map." and she uses several research examples to illustrate the finer points.
4) The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy has published Volume 3, Number 4 of their online journal, Forensic Genealogy News. You can read, and download, all of the issues of this publication here.
5) DearMYRTLE's Mastering Genealogical Proof Study Group Hangout On Air (on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V82GrJbChbQ) discusses Chapter 6 in the Thomas w. Jones book.
6) This week's Legacy Family Tree Webinar is on Wednesday, 7 August, at 2 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. CDT/12 noon MDT/11 a.m. PDT. Marian Pierre-Louis will present "Captured For All Time: Recording Family Voices to Preserve and Pass Down." Register at http://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=169.
7) Marian Pierre-Louis has a weekly online Blog Talk Radio show called Fieldstone Common (and a blog with that name too). Her show on Thursday, 8 August at 1 p.m. EDT (12 noon CDT, 11 a.m. MDT, 10 a.m. PDT) interviews author Roger Thompson about his book "From Deference to Defiance." The radio shows are archived and can be heard for free at any time.
8) The Canadian Week in Review 05 August 2013 post by Elizabeth Lapointe on the Genealogy Canada blog highlights websites, blogs, newspaper articles and other items that interest her.
9) Mick Southwick's British and Irish Genealogy blog post, Genealogy News - 3rd August, highlights recent information about British and Irish genealogy websites.
10) Jen Baldwin is hosting a weekly Who Do You Think You Are? "After The Show" discussion about the show on the InDepthGen YouTube Channel - watch last week's discussion with Gena Ortega, Michael Hait, and DearMYRTLE.
11) The writer of the I Do Genealogy blog has a ten part series (to date) on getting organized - she doesn't have a complete list of them in one place though - you have to go post by post. The Step 10 post is here, and you can work your way back in time to find them all.
12) A genealogy funny for my readers (and so that there's a graphic when this post is published):
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/genealogical-eclectica-for-tuesday-6.html
copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Monday, August 5, 2013
Top Ten Genealogy Software Reviews for 2013
The Top Ten Reviews website has released an updated list of genealogy software, and ranked them 1 to 10 based on their evaluation criteria. The listing is at http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
The Top Ten genealogy software programs, according to this site, are:
* Family Tree Maker 2012
* Legacy Family Tree 7.5
* RootsMagic 4
* Ancestral Quest 14
* Family Historian 4
* The Master Genealogist 7
* DoroTree 2.1
* GenBox Family History 3.7.1
* WinFamily 2009
* FamTree 4.43
I can see that the latest versions of several software programs were not evaluated - earlier versions were. For instance, RootsMagic 4 (from 2011?) was evaluated, but RootsMagic released Version 6 back in November 2012. Therefore, the comparison rankings for RootsMagic, and other programs with later versions, probably suffer as a result.
The evaluations of each software program evaluated are in the table below (3 screens):
If you click on the link for one of the programs, you can see additional information - here is the Family Tree Maker 2012 review page:
There are five tabs on the page above (and on all of the reviews), including:
* Review
* Specifications
* Images
* Side-by-Side Comparison
* Learning Center
Here is the Family Tree Maker 2012 Specification page:
There are links for discounted prices on the software at the top of the home page - the discounts are in the 10% to 20% range of the retail price.
I believe that all of the software programs evaluated are for Windows computers - no Mac or Linux programs were evaluated.
This would be a much better review list and comparison if they had evaluated the latest version of the genealogy software programs.
On the other hand, it's a good way to compare different programs to common criteria.
There are other genealogy software comparisons available that come along once in awhile, and I try to link to them when I find them.
The URL for this post is:
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
The Top Ten genealogy software programs, according to this site, are:
* Family Tree Maker 2012
* Legacy Family Tree 7.5
* RootsMagic 4
* Ancestral Quest 14
* Family Historian 4
* The Master Genealogist 7
* DoroTree 2.1
* GenBox Family History 3.7.1
* WinFamily 2009
* FamTree 4.43
I can see that the latest versions of several software programs were not evaluated - earlier versions were. For instance, RootsMagic 4 (from 2011?) was evaluated, but RootsMagic released Version 6 back in November 2012. Therefore, the comparison rankings for RootsMagic, and other programs with later versions, probably suffer as a result.
The evaluations of each software program evaluated are in the table below (3 screens):
If you click on the link for one of the programs, you can see additional information - here is the Family Tree Maker 2012 review page:
There are five tabs on the page above (and on all of the reviews), including:
* Review
* Specifications
* Images
* Side-by-Side Comparison
* Learning Center
Here is the Family Tree Maker 2012 Specification page:
There are links for discounted prices on the software at the top of the home page - the discounts are in the 10% to 20% range of the retail price.
I believe that all of the software programs evaluated are for Windows computers - no Mac or Linux programs were evaluated.
This would be a much better review list and comparison if they had evaluated the latest version of the genealogy software programs.
On the other hand, it's a good way to compare different programs to common criteria.
There are other genealogy software comparisons available that come along once in awhile, and I try to link to them when I find them.
The URL for this post is:
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Hunting for Hannah Brown's Birth Family in Colonial Massachusetts
I spent some time over the weekend to perform a search for potential parents for my Hannah Brown (ca 1725 to ca 1774), who married John Phillips (1722-????) in 1749 in Southborough, Massachusetts. The only reason I've listed Hannah's birth date as "about 1725" is based on John's birth year and their marriage date, so the birth date is a guess.
Here's what I know:
I know that there were five children born to this couple - Sarah (1750) and Jonathan (1752) in Southborough, and Joanna (1755), Martha (1757) and Elizabeth (1764) in Shrewsbury. I also know that John Phillips married Mary Richards (1733-????) in 1774 in Southborough (which is the only evidence I have that Hannah probably died before 1774). I have records for those events from the town records and the town vital record books.
Here is what I know about the John and Hannah (Brown) Phillips family (my RootsMagic Family view page):
I also know that John Phillips had land in Southborough, Shrewsbury and Lancaster, Massachusetts. He and Mary probably died in Lancaster, but there are no town records, probate records nor cemetery records.
I want to focus on the area around Southborough for my search for potential Brown parents to Hannah Brown. I'm going to look for Brown families in town vital record books that have births, marriages or deaths recorded between, say, 1710 and 1750.
My first issue was: "How far away from Southborough should I look?" Doing all of Massachusetts is unreasonable, but so is restricting the search to only Southborough or neighboring towns. So I picked a radius of about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles). Here is a Google Map centered on Southborough (circled) with the approximate 20 kilometer circle:
That provided this list of towns that were extant in the early to mid- 1700s:
* Marlborough
* Westborough
* Northborough
* Shrewsbury
* Boylston
* Lancaster
* Stow
* Littleton
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Framingham
* Holliston
* Hopkinton
* Grafton
* Milford
* Upton
and probably several others.
My strategy here is to look at the published town vital record books for these towns and abstract birth, marriage and death information from them. I was particularly interested in forming a list of children born to each couple in the records between, say, 1710 and 1750. I looked for marriages starting in 1710, and deaths up to 1800.
All of the town vital record books are available online so I was able to quickly navigate to the vital record lists, which are all alphabetical (except for Concord!).
I decided to record all of this information in a Brown Family Research Log in RootsMagic 6:
For each town, I opened a new research log item, and added the name of the source, the website URL and the results found. Here is the log item for Southborough, Mass:
As you can see, there were no Brown births or deaths recorded in Southborough in the time period chosen, but there were three marriages recorded, including Hannah. In the Westborough book, Susanna Brown "of Sutton" had an entry signifying marriage intentions with Benjamin "Gafel" in 1754 Was Susanna Brown, who married Benjamin Garfield in 1754, a sibling of Hannah's? I don't know, but it's possible.
I did several other towns, looking especially for Hannah and Susanna. I have found no entries to date for a birth of Hannah, but I did find at least one for a Susanna Brown. For the towns that I've investigated so far within the 20 kilometer radius, Sudbury has the most entries, then Marlborough and Framingham. From the data in those towns, only the Marlborough records had a Brown having children in the 1720-1730 time frame:
* James Brown and Sarah How (married 1719) had an Elizabeth in 1720. Sarah the mother died in 1725.
* James Brown and Deborah Rice (married Jan 1725) had a Susanna in 1725 (died in 1726). Deborah the mother died in late 1725 soon after Susanna's birth.
* James Brown and Mary Claice (married 1727) had Mary in 1733. Mary the mother died in 1734.
It is possible that my Hannah Brown (born around 1725) was the daughter of James and Sarah (How) Brown. Or not. I have negative evidence here - the records do not show me when or where Hannah Brown was born.
I probably need to expand my search even more. Many of the early residents of Southborough came from towns all over eastern Massachusetts - I've seen records reference Middlesex (Groton, Woburn, Chelmsford, Wilmington, Concord, etc.) and Essex Counties (especially Lynn). The Sutton link is possible too - I'll check there also.
I figured one way to "short circuit" this search town by town was to see if a Brown person purchased land in Southborough in the 1720 to 1750 time frame. Fortunately, the Grantee Deed Index, 1717-1839 for Worcester County in the "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620 to 1986" collection available on FamilySearch lists the location of the deed. There were 14 images to search, and there were no entries for a Brown purchasing land in Southborough in the 1720 to 1839 time period. I added that to the Research Log too.
About ten years ago, I searched the Middlesex County probate records on microfilm for Brown persons who might have been Hannah's parents. I looked for children (Brown or Phillips) named in wills and administrations; unfortunately, I found absolutely zero possibles. It was easier to do for Middlesex because the probate packets are complete on the FHL microfilms for that county.
At this point, I'm stymied. I have picked all of the "low hanging fruit" and not found one to focus on. I know that there are other resources for the Brown surname, and for the different towns and counties in eastern Massachusetts.
Do my readers have any ideas? I'll be happy to follow up leads that you suggest!
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/hunting-for-hannah-browns-birth-family.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Here's what I know:
I know that there were five children born to this couple - Sarah (1750) and Jonathan (1752) in Southborough, and Joanna (1755), Martha (1757) and Elizabeth (1764) in Shrewsbury. I also know that John Phillips married Mary Richards (1733-????) in 1774 in Southborough (which is the only evidence I have that Hannah probably died before 1774). I have records for those events from the town records and the town vital record books.
Here is what I know about the John and Hannah (Brown) Phillips family (my RootsMagic Family view page):
I also know that John Phillips had land in Southborough, Shrewsbury and Lancaster, Massachusetts. He and Mary probably died in Lancaster, but there are no town records, probate records nor cemetery records.
I want to focus on the area around Southborough for my search for potential Brown parents to Hannah Brown. I'm going to look for Brown families in town vital record books that have births, marriages or deaths recorded between, say, 1710 and 1750.
My first issue was: "How far away from Southborough should I look?" Doing all of Massachusetts is unreasonable, but so is restricting the search to only Southborough or neighboring towns. So I picked a radius of about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles). Here is a Google Map centered on Southborough (circled) with the approximate 20 kilometer circle:
That provided this list of towns that were extant in the early to mid- 1700s:
* Marlborough
* Westborough
* Northborough
* Shrewsbury
* Boylston
* Lancaster
* Stow
* Littleton
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Framingham
* Holliston
* Hopkinton
* Grafton
* Milford
* Upton
and probably several others.
My strategy here is to look at the published town vital record books for these towns and abstract birth, marriage and death information from them. I was particularly interested in forming a list of children born to each couple in the records between, say, 1710 and 1750. I looked for marriages starting in 1710, and deaths up to 1800.
All of the town vital record books are available online so I was able to quickly navigate to the vital record lists, which are all alphabetical (except for Concord!).
I decided to record all of this information in a Brown Family Research Log in RootsMagic 6:
For each town, I opened a new research log item, and added the name of the source, the website URL and the results found. Here is the log item for Southborough, Mass:
As you can see, there were no Brown births or deaths recorded in Southborough in the time period chosen, but there were three marriages recorded, including Hannah. In the Westborough book, Susanna Brown "of Sutton" had an entry signifying marriage intentions with Benjamin "Gafel" in 1754 Was Susanna Brown, who married Benjamin Garfield in 1754, a sibling of Hannah's? I don't know, but it's possible.
I did several other towns, looking especially for Hannah and Susanna. I have found no entries to date for a birth of Hannah, but I did find at least one for a Susanna Brown. For the towns that I've investigated so far within the 20 kilometer radius, Sudbury has the most entries, then Marlborough and Framingham. From the data in those towns, only the Marlborough records had a Brown having children in the 1720-1730 time frame:
* James Brown and Sarah How (married 1719) had an Elizabeth in 1720. Sarah the mother died in 1725.
* James Brown and Deborah Rice (married Jan 1725) had a Susanna in 1725 (died in 1726). Deborah the mother died in late 1725 soon after Susanna's birth.
* James Brown and Mary Claice (married 1727) had Mary in 1733. Mary the mother died in 1734.
It is possible that my Hannah Brown (born around 1725) was the daughter of James and Sarah (How) Brown. Or not. I have negative evidence here - the records do not show me when or where Hannah Brown was born.
I probably need to expand my search even more. Many of the early residents of Southborough came from towns all over eastern Massachusetts - I've seen records reference Middlesex (Groton, Woburn, Chelmsford, Wilmington, Concord, etc.) and Essex Counties (especially Lynn). The Sutton link is possible too - I'll check there also.
I figured one way to "short circuit" this search town by town was to see if a Brown person purchased land in Southborough in the 1720 to 1750 time frame. Fortunately, the Grantee Deed Index, 1717-1839 for Worcester County in the "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620 to 1986" collection available on FamilySearch lists the location of the deed. There were 14 images to search, and there were no entries for a Brown purchasing land in Southborough in the 1720 to 1839 time period. I added that to the Research Log too.
About ten years ago, I searched the Middlesex County probate records on microfilm for Brown persons who might have been Hannah's parents. I looked for children (Brown or Phillips) named in wills and administrations; unfortunately, I found absolutely zero possibles. It was easier to do for Middlesex because the probate packets are complete on the FHL microfilms for that county.
At this point, I'm stymied. I have picked all of the "low hanging fruit" and not found one to focus on. I know that there are other resources for the Brown surname, and for the different towns and counties in eastern Massachusetts.
Do my readers have any ideas? I'll be happy to follow up leads that you suggest!
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/hunting-for-hannah-browns-birth-family.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Amanuensis Monday - Probate Records of Henry Brooks (1592-1683) of Woburn, Mass.
Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme 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 records of Henry Brooks (1592-1683) of Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He married an unknown woman (~1595 to ~1651) before 1623 in England and they had six children:
* John Brooks (1623-1691), married (1) 1649 Eunice Mousall (1628-1684), and (2) 1684 Mary Champney (1634-1704)
* Sarah Brooks (1630-1705), married John Mousall (1626-1698)
* Timothy Brooks (1638-1712), married (1) 1659 Mary Russell (1641-1680), and (2) 1680 Mehitable Mowry (1646-1730)
* Joseph Brooks (1641-1643)
* Isaac Brooks (1643-1686), married 1666 Miriam Daniels (1649-????)
* Lestor Brooks (1645-????)
Henry Brooks married (2) 1651 Susanna Bradford (1610-1681), and they had no children. Henry Brooks married (3) 1682 Anna Jaquith.
Henry Brooks died testate, and his probate records are in Middlesex County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, Packet #2,835 (original papers in probate packet were accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,386,035). The packet contains the will and inventory. The will reads (transcribed by Randy Seaver):
"In the Name of God Amen.
"I Henry Brooks of the Towne of Woburne in the County of Midlesex in the Massachusets Collony in New England, cloathyer, being by thee Grace of God of Sound understanding and perfect memory yet Stricken in years and may expect every day my chainge the which my God fit me for, Do ordain & make this writting my last will and testament, and first I commit my soul to God father son & Holly Spirit in hopes of a glorious resarraction, and my body to the earth, expecting a decent buryall, and by these presents disannul all former wills by mee made, and when my full debts & funerall charges are Sattisfied the rest of my estate both reall and personall I give as followeth.
"Item. I give and bequeath to Annes my loveing wife three pounds a yeare to be payd her by my Executor during her naturall life, the which three pounds by the yeare I have covenanted under my hand at day of marridg upon her renuncing any other dowry and also my will is that shee have the use of the bed and furniture to it during her naturall life, and then shee shall return it to my Executor.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son John Brooks that tenn pounds which he oweth me for a yoake of oxen and one third part of my wearing apparill provided he medle not with my executors upon any pretence of debt due from mee I knowing there is none due but he hath had his portion alredy.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son Timothy one third part of my wearing apparrell and a confirmation of all that land I gave him hee alsoe hath received his portion alredy.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son in law John Mousall that fifty pounds the which I have a bond for under my son John Brooks hands which fivety pounds is for land and housing sould to my said son Brooks and my will is that his wife my daughter Sarah may have the disposing of twenty pounds of the said fivety in case she dye first.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son Isack Brooks all my land on the east side of the highway leading to Charlstowne except eight acres of medow which I give to his two sons Isack and Henery and to bee measured out by my overseers where they shall thinck it most convenent also I give him halfe my herbidg and halfe my wood lots to bee posted by my overseers and also I give him all my plowland lots except my great lot which I give to his daughter Mirriam all to him and his heirs for ever.
"Item I give and bequeth to my daughter Lester five shillings and no more because shee hath resaived her portion alredy as will appeare by a resaite under her hand.
"Item I give and bequeth to my two grand Children Isack and Henry sons of my son Isack all my lands on the west side of the highway leaving to Charlstowne I meane all that land which lyeth betwene my son John Brookes line horns pond horns pond river and the highway and also all that peece of land on the west side the river next James Convarse land and Eaighth acres of meaddow in the meadow on the east side the way as aforesaid and also halfe my wood lotts and halfe my herbidg all to them and there heirs for ever and a free passage for their catell to and from the common over the little playne to them and their heirs for ever.
"Item I give to my grand child Meriam daughter of my son Isack all my great lot to her and her heirs for ever.
"Item I give to my Revrant Pastors Mr Thomas Carter and Mr. Jabez Fox twenty shillings apece to bee payd by my executors within a yeare after my deseace.
"And for the performance of this my will I doe apoint my son Isack Sole Executor and desire my hearty and beloved friend Lieut William Johnson to bee overseere to this my will and in token of my love I give him twenty shillings in silver the which I have payd alredy.
"Moreover my will is that my Executors shall possess all the rest of my lands and Esteat not disposed by this will and further my will is that my two grand children which I have given my land to shall not Allienat any of the land I have given them during their fathers life. Thus so having by the help of God disposed of my temporall Estate I desire the God of all grace and peace to rest upon the persons and familyes of all my children and grandchildren and wish they may live in peace and love one to another and that this my will may stand firme and good I the said Henry Brooks have sett to my hand and seale this Eaigtheenth day of July Sixteene hundred Eaighty two.
"Signed and sealed in presants of us
Jabez Fox Henry Brooks H his marke (seal)
Daniel Baldwin
Peter Fowle"
The will was proved at the Probate Court at Cambridge on 20 April 1683, the oath having been sworn by Daniel Baldwin and Peter Fowle.
The inventory of the estate of Henry Brooks of Woburn, deceased, was apprised by James Convers Junior and Nathaniel Peirce on 17 April 1683. The inventory totaled 377 pounds, 12 shillings and 6 pence. The real estate included:
* about 20 acres of upland on the east side of the highway (20 pounds)
* 7 acres of meadow adjoining the said land (28 acres)
* 8 acres of meadow in 40 pound meadow, given to the children of Isaac Brooks (32 pounds)
* about 80 acres of upland on the west side of the highway on both sides of the river given to the 2 sons of Isaac Brooks (90 pounds)
* the Great lot in Woburn common given to Miriam the daughter of Isaac Brooks, 62 acres (10 pounds)
* 3 small lots in Woburn Common, about 15 acres (7 pounds)
* division of woodland in Woburn common land, one half given to the two sons of Isack Brooks (12 acres)
* 6 acres of meadow land in Third Pine meadow (20 pounds)
* Town privilege in herbage, one half given to the two sons of Isaac Brooks (2 pounds)
* 5 acres of swamp bottom (2 pounds, 12 shillings)
* 15 acres of land near Mount Discovery (5 pounds)
The inventory was accepted by the Probate Court on 20 April 1683.
Henry Brooks names his current wife, his five living children, and several grandchildren in his will, plus his two pastors.
I descend through son John Brooks, who married Eunice Mousall and had 8 children, including Sarah Brooks (1652-1720), who married Ephraim Buck (1646-1721).
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/amanuensis-monday-probate-records-of.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the probate records of Henry Brooks (1592-1683) of Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He married an unknown woman (~1595 to ~1651) before 1623 in England and they had six children:
* John Brooks (1623-1691), married (1) 1649 Eunice Mousall (1628-1684), and (2) 1684 Mary Champney (1634-1704)
* Sarah Brooks (1630-1705), married John Mousall (1626-1698)
* Timothy Brooks (1638-1712), married (1) 1659 Mary Russell (1641-1680), and (2) 1680 Mehitable Mowry (1646-1730)
* Joseph Brooks (1641-1643)
* Isaac Brooks (1643-1686), married 1666 Miriam Daniels (1649-????)
* Lestor Brooks (1645-????)
Henry Brooks married (2) 1651 Susanna Bradford (1610-1681), and they had no children. Henry Brooks married (3) 1682 Anna Jaquith.
Henry Brooks died testate, and his probate records are in Middlesex County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, Packet #2,835 (original papers in probate packet were accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,386,035). The packet contains the will and inventory. The will reads (transcribed by Randy Seaver):
"In the Name of God Amen.
"I Henry Brooks of the Towne of Woburne in the County of Midlesex in the Massachusets Collony in New England, cloathyer, being by thee Grace of God of Sound understanding and perfect memory yet Stricken in years and may expect every day my chainge the which my God fit me for, Do ordain & make this writting my last will and testament, and first I commit my soul to God father son & Holly Spirit in hopes of a glorious resarraction, and my body to the earth, expecting a decent buryall, and by these presents disannul all former wills by mee made, and when my full debts & funerall charges are Sattisfied the rest of my estate both reall and personall I give as followeth.
"Item. I give and bequeath to Annes my loveing wife three pounds a yeare to be payd her by my Executor during her naturall life, the which three pounds by the yeare I have covenanted under my hand at day of marridg upon her renuncing any other dowry and also my will is that shee have the use of the bed and furniture to it during her naturall life, and then shee shall return it to my Executor.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son John Brooks that tenn pounds which he oweth me for a yoake of oxen and one third part of my wearing apparill provided he medle not with my executors upon any pretence of debt due from mee I knowing there is none due but he hath had his portion alredy.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son Timothy one third part of my wearing apparrell and a confirmation of all that land I gave him hee alsoe hath received his portion alredy.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son in law John Mousall that fifty pounds the which I have a bond for under my son John Brooks hands which fivety pounds is for land and housing sould to my said son Brooks and my will is that his wife my daughter Sarah may have the disposing of twenty pounds of the said fivety in case she dye first.
"Item I give and bequeth to my son Isack Brooks all my land on the east side of the highway leading to Charlstowne except eight acres of medow which I give to his two sons Isack and Henery and to bee measured out by my overseers where they shall thinck it most convenent also I give him halfe my herbidg and halfe my wood lots to bee posted by my overseers and also I give him all my plowland lots except my great lot which I give to his daughter Mirriam all to him and his heirs for ever.
"Item I give and bequeth to my daughter Lester five shillings and no more because shee hath resaived her portion alredy as will appeare by a resaite under her hand.
"Item I give and bequeth to my two grand Children Isack and Henry sons of my son Isack all my lands on the west side of the highway leaving to Charlstowne I meane all that land which lyeth betwene my son John Brookes line horns pond horns pond river and the highway and also all that peece of land on the west side the river next James Convarse land and Eaighth acres of meaddow in the meadow on the east side the way as aforesaid and also halfe my wood lotts and halfe my herbidg all to them and there heirs for ever and a free passage for their catell to and from the common over the little playne to them and their heirs for ever.
"Item I give to my grand child Meriam daughter of my son Isack all my great lot to her and her heirs for ever.
"Item I give to my Revrant Pastors Mr Thomas Carter and Mr. Jabez Fox twenty shillings apece to bee payd by my executors within a yeare after my deseace.
"And for the performance of this my will I doe apoint my son Isack Sole Executor and desire my hearty and beloved friend Lieut William Johnson to bee overseere to this my will and in token of my love I give him twenty shillings in silver the which I have payd alredy.
"Moreover my will is that my Executors shall possess all the rest of my lands and Esteat not disposed by this will and further my will is that my two grand children which I have given my land to shall not Allienat any of the land I have given them during their fathers life. Thus so having by the help of God disposed of my temporall Estate I desire the God of all grace and peace to rest upon the persons and familyes of all my children and grandchildren and wish they may live in peace and love one to another and that this my will may stand firme and good I the said Henry Brooks have sett to my hand and seale this Eaigtheenth day of July Sixteene hundred Eaighty two.
"Signed and sealed in presants of us
Jabez Fox Henry Brooks H his marke (seal)
Daniel Baldwin
Peter Fowle"
The will was proved at the Probate Court at Cambridge on 20 April 1683, the oath having been sworn by Daniel Baldwin and Peter Fowle.
The inventory of the estate of Henry Brooks of Woburn, deceased, was apprised by James Convers Junior and Nathaniel Peirce on 17 April 1683. The inventory totaled 377 pounds, 12 shillings and 6 pence. The real estate included:
* about 20 acres of upland on the east side of the highway (20 pounds)
* 7 acres of meadow adjoining the said land (28 acres)
* 8 acres of meadow in 40 pound meadow, given to the children of Isaac Brooks (32 pounds)
* about 80 acres of upland on the west side of the highway on both sides of the river given to the 2 sons of Isaac Brooks (90 pounds)
* the Great lot in Woburn common given to Miriam the daughter of Isaac Brooks, 62 acres (10 pounds)
* 3 small lots in Woburn Common, about 15 acres (7 pounds)
* division of woodland in Woburn common land, one half given to the two sons of Isack Brooks (12 acres)
* 6 acres of meadow land in Third Pine meadow (20 pounds)
* Town privilege in herbage, one half given to the two sons of Isaac Brooks (2 pounds)
* 5 acres of swamp bottom (2 pounds, 12 shillings)
* 15 acres of land near Mount Discovery (5 pounds)
The inventory was accepted by the Probate Court on 20 April 1683.
Henry Brooks names his current wife, his five living children, and several grandchildren in his will, plus his two pastors.
I descend through son John Brooks, who married Eunice Mousall and had 8 children, including Sarah Brooks (1652-1720), who married Ephraim Buck (1646-1721).
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/amanuensis-monday-probate-records-of.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Best of the Genea-Blogs - 28 July to 3 August, 2013
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 daily blog prompts or 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:
* The Grandson by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog. This is a fascinating post about finding the birth parents of a grandson in a census. Look where she found it!
* Searching BLM Tract Books on FamilySearch by Kimberly Powell on the About Genealogy blog. Excellent post on the subject, with examples and links to more information. Very timely for my interests!
* Your Photos Don't Have to Disappear - So Soon! by Gary Clark on Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter blog. Gary's guest post shows examples of photographs created by inkjet printers, and what to do about them.
* Quality or Quantity Genealogy? 3 Sibling Rules I Follow by Kenneth R. Marks on The Ancestor Hunt blog. Kenneth has established rules for what he adds to his family tree.
* A Research List for 1650-1750 in Rhode Island by Diane Boumenot on the One Rhode Island Family blog. Have colonial Rhode Island families to research? Diane has a road map on how to do it.
* Genealogy Market Insights From Recent Ancestry S-4 Filing by Thomas MacEntee on the Hack Genealogy blog. Thomas analyzes what the recent Ancestry.com SEC filing indicates/
* Coffins, Urns and Ziploc Bags by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. Mt. AI recounts J./ Mark Lowe's keynote talk at the BYU Conference.
* Chapter 5 and How Genealogists Think by Pat Richley-Erickson on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat summarizes a Google + Evidentia community discussion that recently occurred. This shows the usefulness and even power of social networking in nearly real time about a topic of interest. "Chapter 5" refers to Tom Jones' book Mastering Genealogical Proof.
* "An Invitation To Shape the Future," Can You Chart the Heart?, The BYU Family History and Genealogy Conference Is Going South, Calling All Family History Consultants (At Least Those Who Pre-Registered :-) by Lynn Broderick on The Single Leaf blog. Lynn has daily reports from the BYU Conference.
* A Recipe For GEDCOM by Louis Kessler on the Louis Kessler's Behold Blog. Louis describes how he thinks a replacement for GEDCOM should be modified and implemented.
* Mastering Genealogical Proof and French Genealogy - Part 5 by Anne Morddel on The French genealogy blog. Anne discusses the highlights of Chapter 5 of MGP and provides a tutorial on French birth registration practices.
These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:
* Follow Friday ~ Favorites for August 2, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves For Trees blog.
* Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for August 2, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.
* Blog Posts and News Stories for Genealogists, August 2, 2013 by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.
* Friday Finds -- 08/02/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog blog.
Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another 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 1400 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/best-of-genea-blogs-28-july-to-3-august.html
Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver
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 daily blog prompts or 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:
* The Grandson by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog. This is a fascinating post about finding the birth parents of a grandson in a census. Look where she found it!
* Searching BLM Tract Books on FamilySearch by Kimberly Powell on the About Genealogy blog. Excellent post on the subject, with examples and links to more information. Very timely for my interests!
* Your Photos Don't Have to Disappear - So Soon! by Gary Clark on Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter blog. Gary's guest post shows examples of photographs created by inkjet printers, and what to do about them.
* Quality or Quantity Genealogy? 3 Sibling Rules I Follow by Kenneth R. Marks on The Ancestor Hunt blog. Kenneth has established rules for what he adds to his family tree.
* A Research List for 1650-1750 in Rhode Island by Diane Boumenot on the One Rhode Island Family blog. Have colonial Rhode Island families to research? Diane has a road map on how to do it.
* Genealogy Market Insights From Recent Ancestry S-4 Filing by Thomas MacEntee on the Hack Genealogy blog. Thomas analyzes what the recent Ancestry.com SEC filing indicates/
* Coffins, Urns and Ziploc Bags by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. Mt. AI recounts J./ Mark Lowe's keynote talk at the BYU Conference.
* Chapter 5 and How Genealogists Think by Pat Richley-Erickson on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat summarizes a Google + Evidentia community discussion that recently occurred. This shows the usefulness and even power of social networking in nearly real time about a topic of interest. "Chapter 5" refers to Tom Jones' book Mastering Genealogical Proof.
* "An Invitation To Shape the Future," Can You Chart the Heart?, The BYU Family History and Genealogy Conference Is Going South, Calling All Family History Consultants (At Least Those Who Pre-Registered :-) by Lynn Broderick on The Single Leaf blog. Lynn has daily reports from the BYU Conference.
* A Recipe For GEDCOM by Louis Kessler on the Louis Kessler's Behold Blog. Louis describes how he thinks a replacement for GEDCOM should be modified and implemented.
* Mastering Genealogical Proof and French Genealogy - Part 5 by Anne Morddel on The French genealogy blog. Anne discusses the highlights of Chapter 5 of MGP and provides a tutorial on French birth registration practices.
These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:
* Follow Friday ~ Favorites for August 2, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves For Trees blog.
* Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for August 2, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.
* Blog Posts and News Stories for Genealogists, August 2, 2013 by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.
* Friday Finds -- 08/02/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog blog.
Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another 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 1400 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/best-of-genea-blogs-28-july-to-3-august.html
Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver
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