Seavers in the News - Guilford L. Seaver Dies in 1966 in Oakland, Calif.

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a semi-regular feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the San Francisco [Calif.] Chronicle newspaper dated 4 August 1966:

The transcription of this obituary is:

"Guilford L. Seaver

"Guilford L. (Gil) Seaver, past state president of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, died in Oakland Tuesday.

"Mr. Seaver, who was 67, was a member of Fruitvale Lodge No. 2336 F. and A.M., Scottish Rite Bodies of Oakland, Aahmes Temple A.A.O.N.M.S, former Secretary and past President of East Oakand Aerie 1375 F.O.E., and past President of the Oakland Recreation Commission.

"A native of California, Mr. Seaver was emplyed as a secretary for the Oakland Eagles.  He lived at 5409 Holland Street, Oakland.

"He is survived by his sons, Lloyd Seaver of Berkeley and Donald Seaver of Pleasnton; two brothers, Theyer Seaver and Orin Seaver of Long Beach, and grandchildren Kenneth Alan and Donna Lynne Seaver.

"Masonic funeral services will be conducted Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Fruitvale Chapel of the Clarence Cooper Mortuary, Oakland.

"Memorial services will be conducted tomorrow (Friday) at 8 p.m. at the Cooper Mortuary."

The source citation for this record is:

"Guilford L. Seaver," San Francisco [Calif.] Chronicle newspaper, 4 August 1966, page 40, column 2, Guilford L. Seaver obituary; digital image, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 10 May 2018), Newspaper Archives collection.

Guilford L. Seaver (1898-1966) was the son of Frank Guilford and Maud Evelyn (White) Seaver of Los Angeles County, California.  He married Marguerite Carmona (1898-1964) in about 1917, and they had two sons, Lloyd Guilford Seaver (1919-1982) and Donald Philip Seaver (1923-2003).  

I had the Guilford Seaver family in my RootsMagic family tree database, but did not have an obituary for him.  This family is interesting to me because I don't know the parents of Guilford's great-grandfather, Gilford Lyman Seaver (1811-1879), who was born in Massachusetts, and died in Santa Clara, California.  

I am probably related to Guilford L. Seaver, but I do not know the most recent common ancestor.

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/seavers-in-news-guilford-l-seaver-dies.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

I Didn't Get an Invitation to My Cousins' Wedding

Was it lost in the mail?  Maybe it will come after the event.  Drat.

Well, I really didn't expect to receive an invitation to the wedding of my cousins, Henry Windsor and Meghan Markle.  But the wedding this weekend of Meghan and Harry in England sparked my curiosity - am I related to both of them?

I knew that I was related to Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry through English royalty with a common ancestor back in the 1500s.  However, I had not investigated a relationship with Princess Diana, mother of William and Harry.  Do I have a commoner relationship with Harry?

But what about Meghan Markle?  Do I have any relationship with her?

I checked Geni, FamilySearch Family Tree and WikiTree.  They each gave me different answers.  I like the WikiTree presentation the best and I think that relationships are better proven there.

1)  Am I related to Prince Harry?  WikiTree says my closest relationship is:

According to WikiTree, I am a 9th cousin twice removed to Prince Harry.  The most recent common ancestor is Michael Newbold (1623-1693) who came to New Jersey around the 1680s.  My line goes through Mary Newbold (1661-1715) who married Jediah Higgins in 1684, and Harry's line goes through Michael Newbold (1667-????).

2)  Am I related to Meghan Markle?  WikiTree says my closest relationship is:

According to WikiTree, Meghan and I are 10th cousins.  Our most recent common ancestor is Thomas Carter (1610-1676) who resided in Salisbury, Massachusetts.  My line goes through son John Carter (1650-1697), and Meghan's line goes through Abigail Carter (1653-1676) who married Stephen Flanders.

3)  I also wondered if perhaps Prince Harry and Meghan had common ancestors.  I used the WikiTree relationship calculator and determined that they do not, at least based on the current WikiTree profiles.

4)  I wish I had done this study back in December.  Perhaps I would have received an invitation to the wedding because of it - publicity you know, like: "a semi-famous (in his own mind!) geneablogger in San Diego is related to both parties."  Several years ago, I also publicized my relationships to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and did not receive invitations to the White House.

5)  Oh well!  I hope my grandkids call this weekend and I can tell them that Harry and Meghan are their cousins too.

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/i-didnt-get-invitation-to-my-cousins.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

1729 Marriage of William White and Abigail Thurston in Little Compton, R.I. - Post 412 for Treasure Chest Thursday

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - a chance to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the 1729 marriage record of William White and Abigail Thurston in the Little Compton, Rhode Island vital records:

The White-Thurston record is:

The transcription of this record is:

"WHITE William, and Abigail Thurston: m. by Richard Billings, Justice; int. Aug. 22; m. Ict. 2, 1729."

The source citation for this record is:

"Rhode Island, Vital Records Extracts, 1636-1899," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Vol. 04: Newport County, Births, Marriages, Deaths > Little Compton -- Intentions & Marriages, page 66, William White and Abigail Thurston marriage entry, 1729.

William White (1708-1780) was the son of William and Elizabeth (Cadman) White of Dartmouth, Massachusetts.  Abigail Thurston (1700-1770) was the daughter of Jonathan and Susanna (--?--) Thurston of Little Compton, Rhode Island.  They had five children born between 1730 and 1736 in Dartmouth.

William and Abigail (Thurston) White are my 6th great-grandparents.  I am descended from their son, Jonathan White (1732-1804), who married Abigail Wing (1734-1806) in 1756 and resided in Dartmouth and Westport, Massachusetts.

This record for the marriage is a Derivative Source record, because it was copied from town and/or church record books.  The Ancestry summary page says that the original data is from Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

The original town record is probably in Little Compton, Town and Vital Records, 1697-1907 on FamilySearch digital microfilm.  The record image can only be seen at FamilySearch libraries.  I've put it on my FSL to-do list. 

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/1729-marriage-of-william-white-and.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Merge Problem in FamilySearch Family Tree Using RootsMagic 7.5.6

For the past three weeks (probably since the update to Version 7.5.6), I have been having a problem Merging profiles on FamilySearch Family Tree using RootsMagic family tree software.

Here is what I'm seeing - and I hope that RootsMagic and/or FamilySearch will fix it soon:

1)  From the RootsMagic FamilySearch Person Tools screen:

There is a duplicate profile for the father in the profile.

2)  I clicked on the gray icon for Ebenezer Buck (2WJ8-F5L) on the right-hand side of the screen, intending to Merge him with the profile for Ebenezer Buck (L844-2SP) because they are probably the same person.  The "What do you want to do..." screen appeared:

I picked the second option - "Match with RootsMagic (to Ebenezer Buck -28186).

3)  Because I have already matched my RootsMagic person to a profile on FamilySearch, I get the question "Merge the Records on FamilySearch?" (screen not shown).

I clicked "Merge Records" and saw the "FamilySearch Merge" screen:

For the past three weeks, this screen has shown only the "Source" information, and not the vital record, parents, spouse and children information.

It appears that the profile that I want to merge into the first profile has a lot more information in the Source column, and I don't want to lose that.  I don't know how complete the vital and family information is in the second profile is, so I'm not going to complete this merge.

I could "Unmatch" my RootsMagic profile from the current Family Tree matching profile and choose this second profile.  I have been doing that recently, looking at both profiles then picking the one that has the most information.

NOTE:  This problem also occurs on the "Find Matches" screen in RootsMagic.

4)  Are other users having this same problem?  

However, it would be great if RootsMagic wizards could check this problem out and fix it so users can perform FamilySearch Family Tree merges expeditiously and efficiently.

This is one of the most efficient processes of RootsMagic that works with FamilySearch Family Tree and I use it almost every day as I match my RootsMagic profiles with FamilySearch profiles.  It easily "cleans up" duplicate persons on Family Tree.

UPDATED 7 p.m.:  Renee Zamora of RootsMagic described this problem on 9 May on Facebook RootsMagic Users group as:

"The FamilySearch merge screen inside of RootsMagic is currently displaying only sources. FamilySearch is aware of this issue in the FT API and are working to resolve it. For now merging can be done on their website under the possible duplicate link."

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Disclosure:  I have paid for every RootsMagic version since Version 3, and currently am using RootsMagic 7.5.6.  I have received no financial considerations from RootsMagic over the past 12 years.

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. 

Changes to Mining Ancestry.com Hints by Specific Record Collection

I last wrote about this subject in Mining Ancestry.com Hints by Specific Record Collection on 21 October 2016 after Ancestry.com changed their Hinting system.

Ancestry recently changed their Hinting system URLs again, and the URLs using the previous "formula" to find Hints in a specific database no longer work.  

I occasionally go in and mine one specific database to add content and sources to my RootsMagic database.  I'm sure not everyone knows that this can be done, so I am repeating it.  

As of 15 May 2018, here is what works (if it no longer works, please comment on this post or email me!):

UPDATE:  I updated this process on 12 June 2019 - see Changes to Mining Ancestry.com Hints by Specific Record Collection - Updated!

1)  The general form of the URL to see all of the existing Hints for a specific database in your Ancestry Member Tree is:

https://www.ancestry.com/hints/tree/treenumb/hints?hf=record&hs=last&hdbid=dbas

where "treenumb" is your Ancestry Member Tree number, and "dbas" is the Ancestry database number.See Tuesday's Tip - Search Ancestry.com Hints by Record Collection for specific directions on how to find your Ancestry Member Tree number and the Ancestry.com database number.

Using my Ancestry Member Tree number (treenumb=113002012) and the database number (dbas=60901) for the Social Security Claims and Applications database, the URL for my AncestryMember Tree Hints for that specific database is:

https://www.ancestry.com/hints/tree/113002012/hints?hf=record&hs=last&hdbid=60901

Note that that specific URL will not work for anyone but me because my Ancestry Member Tree is usable only by me.  But once you know your own tree number, you can edit the URL to add your own tree number.  

Here is the list for my Hints for this database in  my Ancestry Member Tree now:

The number for "Records" in the left-hand column on the screen above is for ALL Records, not just for this one database.  On the right-hand list, just above the first match, is an indicator that I am on page 1 of 54.  So there are 54 pages of records for persons in my Ancestry Member Tree that are not resolved (Added, Ignored or Rejected).  At 20 Hints per page, I have over 1,060 entries on this list.

2)  To help readers use this process, here are some of the Ancestry.com database numbers (the "dbid") that can be used:

*  1940 U.S. Census:  dbid=2442
*  1930 U.S. Census:  dbid=6224
*  1920 U.S. Census:  dbid=6061
*  1910 U.S. Census:  dbid=7884
*  1900 U.S. Census:  dbid=7602
*  1880 U.S. Census:  dbid=6742
*  1870 U.S. Census:  dbid=7163
*  1860 U.S. Census:  dbid=7667
*  1850 U.S. Census:  dbid=8054

*  Social Security Death Index:  dbid=3693
*  Social Security Claims and Applications Index, 1936-2007:  dbid=60901
*  California Birth Index, 1905-1995:  dbid=5247
*  California Marriage Index, 1960-1985:  dbid=1144
*  California Death Index, 1940-1997:  dbid=5180
*  Texas Birth Index, 1902-1997: dbid=8781
*  Texas Death Certificates, 1903-1982:  dbid=2272
*  Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963:  dbid=5164
*  Pennsylvania and New Jersey Church and Town Records, 1708-1985:  dbid=2451
*  Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988:  dbid=2495
*  U.S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935: dbid=2189

*  U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current:  dbid=60525
*  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989:  dbid=2469
*  U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012: dbid=1265
*  New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957:  dbid=7488
*  U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925: dbid=1174
*  U.S. World War I, Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918: dbid=6482
*  U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942:  dbid=1002
*  U.s. World War II Army Enlistments, 1938-1946: dbid =8939
*  U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949: dbid=1143

*  1911 England Census:  dbid=2352
*  1901 England Census:  dbid=7814
*  1891 England Census: dbid=6598
*  1881 England Census: dbid=7572
*  1871 England Census: dbid=7619
*  1861 England Census: dbid=8767
*  1851 England Census: dbid=8860
*  1841 England Census: dbid=8978

*  1921 Canada Census:  dbid=8991
*  1911 Canada Census:  dbid=8947
*  1901 Canada Census:  dbid=8826
*  1891 Canada Census:  dbid=1274
*  1881 Canada Census:  dbid=1577
*  1871 Canada Census:  dbid=1578
*  1861 Canada Census:  dbid=1570
*  1851 Canada Census:  dbid=1061

What other databases do you want the " dbid" for?  You can find them for yourself using the directions in  Tuesday's Tip - Search Ancestry.com Hints by Record Collection?

I looked through my Hints for the Social Security Claims and Applications database and found some Hints that had death dates for persons I did not have, and in several cases, a mother's maiden name that I did not have  (including the first two on the list!). 

3)  I hope this helps readers mine the Ancestry databases effectively.  I find it much easier to use this method than to search a lot of persons for a specific census year.  

Of course, Ancestry.com seems to never be finished with finding Hints for my Ancestry Member Tree persons.  I have 49,944 persons in this tree now, and there are 61,796 Hints for them at the present time. They keep finding the Hints for a number of persons (about 3-10 each day) in the tree for me, and I'm hopelessly behind in using them.  I need a trained Hint Butler to catch up!

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Disclosure:  I have a fully paid Ancestry.com subscription at present.  In the past, Ancestry.com has provided travel reimbursement to me to attend meetings in Salt Lake City.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/changes-to-mining-ancestrycom-hints-by.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. 

More 2014 Photos With Charlie and Sisters -- Post 516 of (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't Wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I simply am incapable of having a wordless post.

In early December 2014, Charlie, our fifth grandchild, was almost three months old when we visited Tami's family in Huntington Beach.  Here are some photos from our visit:

1) Charlie was not real interested in grandma and grandpa - he had his eye on one of his sisters I think:

2)  I love holding babies - here is Audrey (age 6) with Charlie and me on the couch:

3)  Charlie on his play blanket:

4)  Lauren (age 9) wanted a hug from grandpa:

5)  Linda enjoyed her Charlie time too:

This is a wonderful part of MY family history!

More photos next week!

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/more-2014-photos-with-charlie-and.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Genealogy News Bytes - 15 May 2018

Some of the genealogy news items across my desktop the last four days include:

1)  News Articles:

*  Launch of The Great Irish Famine Online

*  Ancestry.com Says They Will Work on Technical Problems

*  Parabon® Announces Snapshot® Genetic Genealogy Service for Law Enforcement

* 23andMe Sues Ancestry for Patent Infringement, Misleading Marketing

2)  Record Databases:

*  Added or Updated Record Collections at FamilySearch.org - Week of 6 to 12 May 2018

*  Added or Updated Ancestry.com Collections - Week of 6 to 12 May 2018

3)  Genealogy Education:

*  GeneaWebinars Calendar

*  Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for May 2018

*  Upcoming Family Tree Webinars - Tuesday, 15 May, 5 p.m. PDT:  Developing Good Research Habits,by Paul Stuart-Warren

*  Upcoming Family Tree Webinars - Wednesday, 16 May, 11 a.m. PDT: The First 5 Things to Do with Your New Test Results, by Blaine Bettinger

*  Genealogy Gold Podcast:  #178: Who’s Who in the American Revolution: Nathan Hale

*  Genealogy Journey's Podcast:  #52: Railroads

*  The Genealogy Guys Podcast:  #343

*  Extreme Genes Podcast/Radio Show:  Episode 236 – Lose A Cemetery? Chicago Native Can Help You / Father And Step Son Make Remarkable DNA Discovery

*  Family History Fanatics YouTube Channel:  What Genea-tech Can You Not Live Without?

*  Family History Fanatics YouTube Channel:  Understanding Ethnicity Part 1: Reference Databases

*  Kenneth R. Marks YouTube Channel:  8 Reasons You Can't Find Squat About Your Ancestors Online

*  Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel:  Findmypast.com and FamilySearch family tree synchronization (Genealogy Giants)

4)  Bargains:

*  Genealogy Bargains for Tuesday, May 15,  2018

*  The Genealogy Dream Team Event Giveaway at Genealogy Bargains

5)  Neat Stuff:

*  Discover Fascinating Vintage Maps From National Geographic's Archives

*  Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer long wondered if he’s related to JFK. At 72, he learned the truth.

* 50-Year-Old Secret: Winston-Salem Man Finds Birth Family

Did you miss the last Genealogy News Bytes - 11 May 2018?

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/genealogy-news-bytes-15-may-2018.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.