Genea-Musings

Friday, January 1, 2021

RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2021

I last updated my Genea-Musings readers on the "numbers" in my RootsMagic genealogy family tree database in My RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 31 December 2019, and before that in:

*  My RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 31 December 2018
*  My Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2017
*   My Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2016
* Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2015
*  Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2014

I was curious to see how much progress I had made in the last 12 months.

Here is the family tree database summary from RootsMagic on 1 January 2021:

Here are the "numbers" from 1 January 2021 in my RootsMagic database (with increases from 31 December 2019):

* 60,768 persons (+ 5,069)
* 24,773 families (+ 2,116)
* 193,834 events (+ 14,951)
* 11,255 Alternate names (+ 2,693)
* 14,894 places (+ 2,364)
* 2,080 sources ( + 125)
* 130,958 citations (+ 17,170)
* 1,555 Multi-media Items (+ 123)
* 3,212 Multimedia links (+ 12)
* 39,638 Persons matched to FamilySearch Family Tree persons (+ 5,700)

In the past 12 months, I've averaged adding 13.8 persons, 5.8 families, 40.7 events and 47.0 source citations each day.  I try to work at least an hour in the evening adding content and sources to the database, although baseball, vacations and the holidays intervened on a lesser scale due to COVID.

Consequently, I've managed to improve my  citations/person from 2.04 to 2.15, and my citations/event from 0.636 to 0.676 this past year.  Obviously, I don't have a citation for every event, name or relationship, and in some cases I have more than one citation for an event, name or relationship. At this rate, to reach 100% in citations/events will take about 8 more years!

I added 5,069 persons to my database in 2020, some in my 5th great-grandparents' descendant lines (including lines to DNA matches with known common ancestors), some in my one-name studies, a few in my grandchildren's trees (Danish and Italian too!), and some from further and ongoing research on my ancestral families.  My one-name studies include Seaver (with variations Sever, Seever, Sevier and plurals), Carringer, Auble, Vaux, Dill, and Buck in my tree, and McKnew in my wife's tree.

I "mine" new Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, and FamilySearch databases and use RootsMagic WebHints for my ancestral and one-name study surnames, and add content and source citations.  I correct name, relationship, date and place errors found while working on the database. I use RootsMagic to match my tree profiles to the FamilySearch Family Tree profiles, and exchange verified information both ways on a near-daily basis.

I added a new ancestral Ancestry Member Tree (AMT) on Ancestry.com in August 2017 with a new tree upload when RootsMagic was able to synchronize with it.  I TreeShare every week now to keep the AMT up-to-date, which generates more Record Hints. I do not attach Record Hints to that Ancestry Member Tree because I know that it will be replaced eventually, so doing that would be a time suck. I uploaded a new MyHeritage tree in January 2020 and need to do that again. I need to add a new Findmypast tree. I review and manually add records from Ancestry Hints, MyHeritage Record Matches, Findmypast Record Hints, anf FamilySearch Record Hints to my RootsMagic database to add content and sources to my family tree database.

Doing the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge for a seventh year in 2020, along with deciding to start with my great-grandparents and doing it by ancestor chart numbers, has greatly improved the events, source citations and notes for the ancestors I write about.  I am now up to #574, in the seventh great-grandparents, at the end of 2020, doing them in ancestor chart number order. When I post a new biography, I add the Notes and Sources to the FamilySearch Family Tree profile for that person. I will continue this weekly meme because it helps me focus on one specific ancestor, and their family, each week and improves my database and my family history.

I did not visit a physical repository (e.g, Family History Library, local FamilySearch Library, or a regular library) this year to perform genealogical and family history research.  My life situation precludes being away from home for more than two hours. I did lots of online research in commercial record providers (Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, Fold3, Newspapers, GenealogyBank, AmericanAncestors, etc.), and free record providers (FamilySearch, Find A Grave, Billion Graves, RootsWeb, USGenWeb).  Since many Family Search Library catalog items are not available from home online, I have a to-do list for the local FamilySearch Library in order to use the digital microfilm that I cannot read at home, and will need to visit the local FSL when the COVID restrictions are lifted.

There are only so many hours in my genealogy day - usually 8 to 11 hours, but sometimes only 5 to 8 hours.  I spend one to three hours each day reading blog posts and answering emails, one to three hours writing blog posts, an hour or two doing online research, one to three hours adding content and sources to the database, and the balance of my time doing society support tasks, creating presentations, participating in or watching webinars, analyzing my DNA matches, or working on other projects. My genealogy life is varied, and definitely not boring (I gave up doing boring genealogy things like extended client research, or going often to libraries and archives - with some exceptions!). I'm having great genealogy fun, but have no clue how long I can go on like this due to health or family circumstances.

My conclusion is:  I've made steady progress, and I'm actively improving my database in both quantity and quality, but still have a long way to go to have a "fully sourced and accurate" family tree.  It's better than it was, but it can still be improved. The Seaver/Seever/Sever/Sevier(s) one-name study really blossomed this last year! It is all a lifelong task, I think! I truly need a genealogy clone or assistant. I doubt that Siri, Alexa, Google Home or any other virtual assistant is yet capable of doing genealogy research, source citations, etc.

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The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2021/01/rootsmagic-genealogy-database.html

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.

52 Ancestors - Week 363: #574 John Paine (1661-1731) of Eastham, Massachusetts

John Paine (1661-1731) is number 574 on my Ahnentafel List, my 7th great-grandfather, who married #575 Bennett Freeman (1671-1716) in 1689 in Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

* their daughter #287 Elizabeth Paine (1702-1772) who married #286 Jabez Snow (1696-1760) in 1720.

* their daughter #143 Eunice Snow (1722-1816) who married #142 Nathaniel Horton (1721-1771) in 1742.

* their daughter #71 Hannah Horton (1761-1797)who married #70 Thomas Dill (1755-1839) in 1782.

* their daughter #35 Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869) who married #34 Alpheus Smith (1802-1840) in 1826.

* their daughter, #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884) who married #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) in 1851.

* their son #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) in 1874.

* their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.

* their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.

* their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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1) PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Name: John Paine[1–6]

* Sex: Male

* Father: Thomas Paine (1633-1706)

* Mother: Mary Snow (1630-1704)

2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Birth: 14 March 1660/1, Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[1–2,6]

* Will: 14 July 1731 (age 70), will written; Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[5]

* Death: 18 October 1731 (age 70), Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[1–2,4,6]

* Burial: after 18 October 1731 (after age 70), Orleans Cemetery, East Orleans, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[6]

* Probate: 19 January 1731/2, will proved, Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States [6]

3) SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Spouse 1: Bennett Freeman (1671-1716)

* Marriage 1: 14 March 1689 (age 28), Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[1–2]

* Child 1: John Paine (1690-1771)

* Child 2: Mary Paine (1692-1770)

* Child 3: William Paine (1695-1713)

* Child 4: Benjamin Paine (1696-1713)

* Child 5: Sarah Paine (1699-1772)

* Child 6: male Paine (1701-1701)

* Child 7: Elizabeth Paine (1702-1772)

* Child 8: Theophilus Paine (1703-1755)

* Child 9: Josiah Paine (1705-1728)

* Child 10: Nathaniel Paine (1707-1728)

* Child 11: Rebecca Paine (1709-1743)

* Child 12: Mercy Paine (1712-1774)

* Child 13: Benjamin Paine (1714-1716)

* Spouse 2: Alice Mayo (1686-1748)

* Marriage 2: 3 March 1719/20 (age 58), Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States[1–3]

* Child 14: Hannah Paine (1720-1723)

* Child 15: James Paine (1723-1723)

* Child 16: Thomas Paine (1725-1802)

* Child 17: Alice Paine (1728-1777)

* Child 18: Hannah Paine (1728-1808)

4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

John Paine was born 10 March 1660/1 in Eastham, Plymouth Colony, the 6th child and 5th son of Thomas and Mary (Snow) Paine[1-2,6].

John married, first, to Bennett Freeman (1671-1716) on 14 March 1689 in Eastham[1-2]. Bennett was the daughter of John and Mercy (Prence) Freeman of Eastham. John and Bennett (Freeman) Paine had 13 children, all born in Eastham and recorded in the Eastham town records:

* John Paine (1690-1771), married (1) 1743 Thankful Hopkins (1700-1753), and (2) 1754 Mercy Higgins (1697-1757).

* Mary Paine (1693-1770), married 1712 Samuel freeman (1688-1751).

* William Paine (1695-1713)

* Benjamin Paine (1697-1713).

* Sarah Paine (1699-1772), married 1717 Joshua Knowles (1696-1786).

* male Paine (1701-1701).

* Elizabeth Paine (1702-1772), married 1720 Jabez Snow (1696-1760).

* Theophilus Paine (1704-1755), married 1733 Hannah Bacon (1705-1755).

* Josiah Paine (1705-1728)

* Rebecca Paine (1709-1744), married 1735 Elisha Linnell (1707-1773).

* Mercy Paine (1712-1774), married 1735 Ebenezer Cook (1711-1793).

* Benjamin Paine (1714-1717).

John Paine married, second, to Alice Mayo (1686-1748), on 3 March 1719/20 in Eastham[1-3]. Alice was the daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Wixam) Mayo of Eastham. They had five children, all born in Eastham and recorded in the Eastham town records:

* Hannah Paine (1721-1724).

* James Paine (1723-1724).

* Thomas Paine (1725-1802), married 1758 Phebe Freeman (1739-1779).

* Alice Paine (1728-1777), married 1775 James Knowles (1719-1782).

* Hannah Paine (1728-1808).

John Paine was admitted a freeman at Eastham June 1690[2]. He was elected as a selectman for five years, and was the Eastham town clerk from 1703 to 1709[2]. He served as Treasurer of Eastham from 1709 to 1730[2]. John was elected as Representative to the General Court seven times between 1703 through 1725[2].

John Paine died on 18 October 1731 at age 70 in Eastham[1-2,4,6]. He is buried in Orleans Cemetery in East Orleans, Massachusetts with his two wives[6].

John Paine wrote his will on 14 July 1731 and it was proved on 19 January 1731/2 in Barnstable County Probate Court[5]. The transcription of his will is:

In the Name of God Amen. The fourteenth Day of July 1731 I John Paine of Eastham in the County of Barnstable in the province of the Massachusetts bay in New England Yeoman being advanced to old age and Labouring under Bodily weakness & Infirmity but of competent & Sound mind & memory praise be given to God Therefor and mindfull of the Mortality of my body and that it is appointed for all men once to Die do therefore make and Ordain this my Last Will and Testament That is to say Principally and first of all I give & Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body I Commend to the Earth to be buried with decent Christian burial at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named. Believing that the General Resurrection I Shall receive it again by the Mighty Power of God, and as touching such Worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life I give demise and Dispose thereof in manner and form following. That is to say first that my Debts & funeral Charges being paid & discharged. Item I Give and bequeath to my beloved wife Alice Pain one third part of my personal Estate & goods & chattles To have hold possess and Enjoy To herself her Executors & Adm'rs in part of which she shall have Liberty (if she see Cause) to take the best bed & furniture belonging to the house & also the bed w'ch she brought with her which was hers before Marriage & the new Chest of Drawers These she may have at the price they shall be Valued. Also I give to my s'd Wife the one half of my grain both Indian and English w'ch shall be growing on my Land or by me in any of my houseing or barn at my decease with the one half of my flax as also one Silver Spoon and four pounds in bills of Credit then Currant this Spoon is Mark'd IPA Two Last I give to my s'd wife in Special Consideration for Extraordinary Care & Trouble in tending me in my Long Illness. Further I give my s'd Wife one Stone Jugg or Pitcher mark'd GR also further I give my s'd Wife one Cow w^ch is now over at Porkey Island a fatling with one of my Large Swine now at the door and one pig with all the Molasses butter or Cheese which I shall have by me at my decease.

Item I Give and bequeath to my Wife aboves'd the Eastern End of my dwelling house wherein I now Live from the floor to the Roof with the one half of the Leanto Chimney & half the benefit of the oven w'ch is in the Western End of my house half the porch before the Door with half the priviledge of the barn and the Ware house standing Southward of my dwelling house as also one half of my Cellar Together with one Third part of all my upland and meadowing divided or undivided whether plain or Wood Land in part of which she may and I do hereby Give her Liberty to take half the orchard as it is now Inclosed all Contain'd in this Paragraph from the Wood together to be possess'd Enjoy'd & improv'd by her Dureing the term of her natural Life also I give to my s^d Wife the free Use of my Large Iron Kettle to be Improv'd by her for her benefit as Long as she Continues to be my widow as also the free Use and Improvement of the Crane Trammel one pair of pothooks and the use of the Iron Dogs & Smal & Irons dureing s'd term also I give to my s'd Wife the Iron Pott & Kettle w'ch she brought with her and were hers before marriage To have and to hold forever.

Item only allowing to my two Daughters Rebecca & Mercy Pain Liberty (if they or either of them see Cause) as Long as they Live unmarried to dwelling Easterly End of the house.

Item I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Pain The half of my Dwelling house barn shop or Ware house Leanto Porch and Cellar as above described w^th the one half of my Orchard as it is now Enclosed To have and to hold to him his heirs and Assigns forever after the Decease of my Wife Alice Pain abovenamed.

Item I Give and bequeath to my four Sons John Pain William Pain Theophilus Pain & Thomas Pain all my Upland Swamp & Meadowing whether Divided or undivided To have to hold to them Respectively and to their heirs and Assigns for ever Two Thirds thereof at my decease and The other Third Thereof at the decease of my Wife Alice Pain abovenamed To be Equally Divided To them or to their Legal Representatives.

Item I Give and bequeath to my two sons Theophilus Pain & Thomas Pain Each of them one bed bolsters & Pillows as near in Value as may be to that which I gave to my son William Pain furthermore I give and bequeath to my s'd son Thomas Pain my Musquet and one Silver Spoon mark'd TPM moreover it is my Will and I do hereby give to my Wife abovenamed The free and full use of all the Tillable ^land^ & the Meadow which shall fall to my son Thomas in the division thereof until my s'd Son arrive to Eighteen Years old.

Item I Give and bequeath to my four maiden Daughters Vizt Rebeckah Pain Mercy Pain Alice Pain and Hannah Pain so much out of my personal Estate & Goods & Chattells as will make them Equal for quantity & quality as near as may be To what I have Given to my three daughters Married Vizt Mary Freeman Sarah Knowles & Elizabeth Snow. Moreover I give & bequeath to my two Daughters Alice and Hannah Pain my Large Silver Cup & each of them one Silver Spoon also I give & bequeath to my s'd beloved Wife one third part of my Mare which is a Black mare with a white star in her forehead. Item I give & bequeath to my son John Pain my Cane and one of my Iron Chains. Item I give to my four sons John Pain William Pain Theophilus Pain & Thomas Pain all my wearing apparrell to be divided Equally among them after my decease.

Item The remaining part (if any there be) of my personal Estate & Goods & Chattels I give and bequeath to my Seven daughters Viz. Mary Freeman, Sarah Knowles, Elizabeth Snow, Rebeckah Pain, Mercy Pain, Alice Pain, & Hannah Pain to be Equally divided to them or to their Legal Representatives. Finally I do hereby Nominate Constitute & Appoint my Two sons John Pain & William Pain Joint Executors of this my Last Will and Testament. Witness my hand and Seal the Day & Year first abovenamed.

Sign'd Seal'd and declared to be the Last Will & Testament John Paine
of the abovenamed John Paine in Presence of
Nathaniel Mayo
Samuel Higgins
Jonathan Higgins Ju^r

5) SOURCES

1. John D. Austin, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Volume Six: Stephen Hopkins (Plymouth, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2001, 3rd Edition), page 48, #34 John Paine family sketch.

2. Dave Pane-Joyce, Pane-Joyce Genealogy, website (https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/report : accessed 31 December 2020), John Paine sketch (https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/report/rr06/rr06_082.html).

3. Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans (Baltimore, Md. : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993), page 62, John Paine Senr and Alice Mayo marriage entry.

4. Col. Leonard H. Smith, Jr. and Norma H. Smith, Vital Records of the Towns of Eastham and Orleans, page 62, Mr. John Paine death entry.

5. "Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991," indexed database with digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 December 2016), Barnstable County > "Probate and Guardianship Records, Vol. 3-6, 1720-1747," Volume 5, pages 13-17 (images 462-464 of 882), 1731 will and inventory of John Paine; Original data from Barnstable County [Mass.] Probate Court clerk books.

6. Find A Grave, indexed database and digital image, (http://www.findagrave.com), Orleans Cemetery, East Orleans, Mass., John Paine memorial # 30962000.

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NOTE: In 2014, Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog. I have extended this theme in 2020 for a seventh year to 364 Ancestors in 364 Weeks. The list of 52 Ancestors biographies from my great-grandparents to the 7th great-grandparents (in work) is in https://www.geneamusings.com/p/ancestor-biographies.html.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2021/01/52-ancestors-week-363-574-john-paine.html

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, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com

Happy New Year -- Let's Make 2021 a GREAT Genealogy Year!

I want to wish all of my readers a very Happy New Year for 2021.

May 2021 bring you happiness, good health, many friends, lots of love and more time to pursue your genealogy addiction passion.

May you complete all of your genealogy and family history goals and objectives (you do have them, don't you?) and may extra genea-blessings be provided to you! Have fun!!!

Stay tuned to Genea-Musings for more genealogy fireworks in 2021!!!

Let's sing the song:

And a beautiful song and scenery:

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The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2021/01/happy-new-year-lets-make-2021-better.html

Copyright (c) 2021, 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.

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Seavers in the News -- Obituary of Undertaker George W. Seaver (1854-1946) of Marion, Virginia

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

This week's entry is from the The Times Dispatch [Richmond, Va.] newspaper dated 10 May 1946:

The transcription of the article is:

"George W. Seaver

MARION, May 9 -- George W. Seaver, 91, one of Marion's oldest citizens, died Tuesday in a local hospital. Mr. Seaver retired in 1928 after being in the retail furniture and undertaking business for 54 years. He was a member of First Methodist Church of Marion and is survived by two sons, William B. Seaver, of Marion, and George W. Seaver, Jr., of Princeton, W.Va.; one daughter, Mrs. M.M. Brown; and eight grandchildren. Funeral rites were held Wednesday at Seaver Funeral Chapel. Interment was in Round Hill Cemetery."

The source citation is:

"George W. Seaver," The Times Dispatch [Richmond, Va.] newspaper, obituary, Friday, 10 May 1946, page 29, column 1, George W. Seaver obituary; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 December 2020).

This death notice provides only an age, an approximate death date, his occupation, and the names of his three living children. There is no mention of parents or spouse names, or his daughter's given name.

George Watson Seaver (1854-1946) was born 9 December 1854 in Marion, Virginia, the son of William C. and Elizabeth Ann (Pruner) Seaver. He married Seanah M. Painter (1876-1919) on 29 October 1896 in Sullivan County, Tennessee. They had four children:

* Maude Elizabeth Seaver (1897-1980), married about 1919 Dr. Malcolm Marvin Brown (1887-1948).

* Marvin Wise Seaver (1900-1945), married 1930 Glenna Marene Sprinkle (1908-1993).

* William Blaine Seaver (1902-1947), married 1935 Margaret Virginia Blackwell (1902-1969).

* George Watson Seaver (1905-1959), married 1926 Mildred C. Tilson (1905-1995).

I am not related to George Watson Seaver since he is descended from Henry and Elizabeth (--?--) Seaver who migrated from Germany to Virginia in the 1760s.

There are over 10,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - and this was one of them. Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes a man lives and works a long time, and has a mortuary named after him. I am glad that I can honor George Watson Seaver today.

You never know when a descendant or relative will find this blog post and learn something about their ancestors or relatives, or will provide more information about them to me.

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Disclosure: I have a complimentary subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2020/12/seavers-in-news-obituary-of-undertaker.html

Copyright (c) 2020, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

MyHeritage Year in Review Graphic for 2020

I received this from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage today:

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Throughout an exceedingly difficult year, family history became an increasingly important outlet for people and helped them remain connected to their loved ones. At MyHeritage we worked hard to fill that need by developing new features, adding historical records, and giving back to the community.

Read more about what we did in 2020 in our year in review blog post: https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/12/2020-myheritage-year-in-review/

xxxxx

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and gave received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2020/12/myheritage-year-in-review-graphic-for.html

Copyright (c) 2020, Randall J. Seaver

Randy's Genealogy Activity Highlights for 2020

Looking back over the past year, I see that I pursued these genealogy and family history related activities:

1) Speaking

* Gave three presentations to Chula Vista Genealogical Society via Zoom in April, May and June.

* Gave two presentations to Orange County California Genealogical Society in September via Zoom.

* Gave a presentation to Whittier Area Genealogical Society in October via Zoom.

* Gave a presentation to Larimer County (Colorado) Genealogical Society in November via Zoom.

* Gave a presentation to a Chula Vista PEO group in October via Zoom.

* I had planned on cutting back in-person presentations due to travel issues, but COVID did the job for me.

* I created no new presentations this year.

2) Society Work

* Moderated 2 SDGS RootsMagic User Group meetings at San Diego FamilySearch Library with 6 to 15 in attendance. These meetings were canceled starting in March due to COVID and the lack of RootsMagic 8 release.
* Moderated 12 CVGS Research Group monthly meetings (3 at Chula Vista Civic Center Library and 9 in Zoom meetings) with 8 to 20 in attendance.

* Moderated 11 CVGS DNA Interest Group monthly meetings (2 at Chula Vista Civic Center Library and 9 in Zoom meetings) with 10 to 20 in attendance.
* Wrote, edited, printed, mailed and emailed 12 CVGS monthly Newsletters (10 pages each month) to the CVGS membership.
* Served on the CVGS Board for the 18th consecutive year as Research Group Chair, DNA Group Chair, and Newsletter Editor, attending monthly Board meetings and General Society program meetings (3 in-person, 8 on Zoom).

* Set up the Zoom account for CVGS and hosted all of the CVGS Zoom meetings. We are recording the program meetings and putting them on the CVGS website.

3) Education

* Watched about 50 Family Tree Webinars and about 3 Virtual Genealogical Society webinars as part of my subscriptions to both services.
* Attended the 2020 RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City in February, attended a few classes, enjoyed the exhibit hall, served as an Ambassador, and received a GeneaBlogger Lifetime Service Award.

* Attended the SDGS January seminar, and every SDGS in-person and online program meetings and special webinars on Zoom.

* Attended the SDGS DNA Interest Group meetings on Zoom from April to December hosted by Colin Whitney, often with speakers.

* Attended most CVGS monthly General Meetings (January in-person, April to December via Zoom) with one presentation by a speaker.
* Participated in about 40 Mondays With Myrt webinars via Zoom contributing information, commentary and opinions about events in the genea-sphere. Also watched several Wacky Wednesday webinars.
* Watched hundreds of YouTube videos about genealogy-related topics - I subscribe to about 90 YouTube channels for genealogy.
* Read the NEHGS magazines and downloaded them to my genealogy education folders. American Ancestors also provides digital editions of a number of periodicals for New England which I search occasionally and download articles to my genealogy folders.
* Downloaded syllabus articles from RootsTech, Family Tree Webinars and save them to my education folders.
* Read thousands of genealogy-related blog posts from hundreds of geneabloggers using Feedly on a daily basis.

4) Blogging

* Wrote 939 blog posts on Genea-Musings in the 15th year of the blog. Most of my posts are about my own research (e.g., Amanuensis Monday, Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Treasure Chest Thursday, Seavers in the News, 52 Ancestors, and Saturday Night Genealogy Fun), but some are genea-curation about the industry (e.g., New and Updated Ancestry Collections; New and Updated FamilySearch collections; New and Updated MyHeritage collections; Genealogy News and Education Bytes on Tuesdays and Fridays; and Best of the Genea-Blogs on Sundays), occasional guest posts, press releases, research tips (Tuesday's Tips), questions asked (e.g., Dear Randy posts), genealogy software, online collections, or industry issues.  See:
***  Randy's "Best" Genea-Musings Posts in 2020
***  Top 30 Most Viewed Posts in 2020 on Genea-Musings
* I now have about 11,512,000 page views on the Genea-Musings blog according to Google.

* Wrote 242 blog posts on The Geneaholic blog in the 14th year of the blog. Almost all of them are daily journal posts about my work and my life. I really slowed down in the fall.

5) DNA Tests and Analysis

* I have autosomal DNA test results at AncestryDNA (test), MyHeritageDNA (upload), FamilyTreeDNA (test), 23andMe (test), and Living DNA (upload).
* Reviewed my DNA matches on a regular basis, and made notes about the match data, including known relationships and common ancestors. I have spreadsheets for the highest matches on AncestryDNA and MyHeritageDNA matches with collected information. I occasionally download my Shared DNA segments from MyHeritageDNA, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe.
* Created AutoCluster groups on Ancestry (not available any longer), MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe using the Genetic Affairs program. I have not done much on DNA Painter yet because my known common ancestors with my matches are relatively few on the sites with chromosome browsers.

6) Genealogy Research and Family Trees

* Used RootsMagic as my "master" family tree program on my desktop and laptop computers. See My RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2021 for my progress on my family tree.

* Continued to research, find, source and enter information on my ancestors and descendants of my 5th great-grandparents to help find common ancestors with DNA matches.
* Use the WebHints for Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, and FamilySearch to add content (names, relationships, events, dates, places, notes and source citations) for records found that apply to each profile.
* Searched for more records for selected profiles on all of the sites, adding content and source citations for records found that apply to each profile.
* Mined selected record collections on Ancestry (using the specific database tool for Ancestry Member Tree profiles), on MyHeritage (finding Record Matches for a specific collection for my MyHeritage tree profiles), on Findmypast (Record Hints on Findmypast tree profiles), and on FamilySearch Record Hints for FamilySearch Family Tree profiles.
* TreeShared weekly the changes to the RootsMagic tree to my Ancestry Member Tree, which generates more Record Hints for those profiles. Update my Findmypast and MyHeritage trees using GEDCOM on a yearly basis.
* Matched my RootsMagic profiles with FamilySearch Family Tree profiles on a regular basis using the FamilySearch tools in RootsMagic, and add or edit Family Tree profiles and/or RootsMagic profiles to add content, notes and source citations.

* Started the General Society of Mayflower Descendants membership process - submitted the preliminary form and am working on the application form and supporting documentation.
* Wrote Randy's Best Genealogy Discoveries in 2020 to summarize my genealogy research efforts.

7) Digital Data Maintenance

* Added digital images of genealogy records, including downloaded books or articles, to my ancestral surname and family files on a regular "as found" basis.
* Added other genealogy-related documents (e.g., CVGS Newsletters, presentation slides and handouts, etc.) to my Genealogy file folder.
* Backed up the digital image files to Google Drive and iDrive in the cloud, and some files to Dropbox for transfer to the laptop on an as-needed basis.
*  Bought another FOREVER box for more digitization in 2020. Finally sent it in with 29 more 8-mm home movies from the 1940s to 1970s in late November. Added more photographs in albums to FOREVER. Now I need to buy more storage there.

8) Summary

* That's what I do almost every day for 5 to 11 hours a day chained to my computer; plus eat and sleep, but usually take a mid-day nap to recharge. I worked about 3,000 hours on genealogy-related activities in 2020. Didn't make much money. I think I'm my own boss. Made a lot of discoveries and had a lot of genea-fun.

* I actually gained more genealogy and research time due to COVID because I didn't have to drive Linda to the YMCA every day, but now I'm sleeping in longer.
* I still find some time for family activities (a few visits - some on Facetime and Duo, church (some on Zoom), Padres baseball on TV in 2020, Chargers football on TV, and Aztecs football/basketball on TV, and reading fiction while watching TV) and household chores (I took on cooking and cleaning this year). I check Facebook daily, and read or watch political news/events online and on TV.

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The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2020/12/randys-genealogy-activity-highlights.html

Treasure Chest Thursday -- 1693 Birth Record of Dinah Rice (1693-1725) in Marlborough, Massachusetts

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 birth entry for Dinah Rice (1693-1725) in the Marlborough, Massachusetts vital record book:

The birth entry is the first one at the top of the page:

The transcription of this record is:

"RICE, Dinah, d. Edmond and Rutth, Oct. 15, 1693."

The baptism record just below the birth entry is probably for Dinah also.

The source citation for this record is:

Franklin P. Rice (editor), Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Boston, Mass. : Franklin P. Rice, 1908), Births, page 154, Dinah Rice birth entry, 15 October 1693, daughter of Edmond and Ruth Rice.

This is an abstract from an original town record book for Marlborough, Massachusetts, so it is a Derivative Source with Primary Information and Direct Evidence of the birth of Dinah Rice and the names of her parents.

Dinah Rice (1693-1725) was the daughter of Edmund and Ruth (Parker) Rice of Marlborough. She married on 24 December 1717 in Marlborough to Nathan Brigham (1693-1784), the eldest son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Maynard) Brigham of Marlborough.

Nathan and Dinah (Rice) Brigham are my 6th great-grandparents, through their son Moses Brigham (1723-1769) who married Mehitable Grout (1726-1795) in 1749.

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The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2020/12/treasure-chest-thursday-1693-birth_31.html