One Lovely Blog Award

I was nominated by Alex Daw, who writes the beautiful Family Tree Frog blog, for the One Lovely Blog award.  I'm not sure that my blog is "lovely" but I appreciate the nomination.

Here the Rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog
2. Share Seven things about yourself 
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Contact your bloggers to let them know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

Okay, I'm game!

1.  Thank you, Alex, for the nomination - Alex's blog is at http://familytreefrog.blogspot.com/.

2.  Seven Things about me:

*  I am a native San Diegan, as were my mother and her father.  We even went to the same high school.

*  My first real job was as a room cleaner at the San Diego Chargers (American football team) in the summer of 1963.

*  Until I started doing genealogical research, my hobby was listening to the radio for distant radio stations on the AM band.  I also became somewhat of an expert in radio wave propagation.

*  I met Linda at a bowling alley in San Diego, and we married two years later.  My bowling average got up to 178 at one point when I was bowling in three leagues a week.  Now I struggle to break 100.  My two grandsons beat me two weeks ago.

*  We have four grandchildren, with a fifth due on Friday, 12 September.  I hope that Charlie is on time!  I can hardly wait to put him to sleep by reciting his ancestry to him.  Works every time!

*  I have been a San Diego Padres fan (American baseball team) since 1948.  We won the Pacific Coast League pennant in 1954.  The major league Padres started in 1969, and have been in two World Series in 1984 and 1998.  We're past due!  Not this year, though.

*  I've seen snow fall at sea level in San Diego twice - once in 1949 (walking to school) and in 1967 (driving to work).  We're past due!

3)  I have to nominate 15 bloggers whom I admire...that's hard, since I have over 1,500 genealogy blogs on my Feedly list.  Here are 15 that I admire that write regularly and well (not in any order):

*  J.L. Bell on the Boston 1775 blog.  This is a treasure trove of Revolutionary War information.

*  Jacqi Stevens on the A Family Tapestry blog.  Jacqi blogs about her research experiences...I love her work.

*  Gail Dever on the Genealogy a la Carte blog.  Gail's blog covers Canadian, English and Irish research, and she writes a weekly Creme de la Creme blog list.

*  Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.  Jana writes a weekly Fab Finds blog list.
*  John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism blog.  John highlights New England research and often has a weekly Saturday Serendipity blog list.

*  Eowyn Langholf, Tami Mize and Gena Philibert-Ortega on the WikiChicks blog.  These ladies are full of enthusiasm and ideas.

*  Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.  Michael writes about genealogy resources and topics and used to write a weekly blog list.

*  Diane Gould Hall on the Michigan Family Trails blog.  Diane is a San Diego blogger with Michigan roots.

*  Diane Weintraub on the Nuts From the Family Tree blog.  Diane is also a San Diego blogger who writes about her ancestral families.

*  Heather Wilkinson Rojo on the Nutfield Genealogy blog.  Heather lives in New Hampshire and writes about her family's ancestry and New England.

*  Diane Boumenot on the One Rhode Island Family blog.  Diane writes about her Rhode Island families, some of which I share!

*  Bill West on the West in New England blog.  Bill has lots of New England ancestry, and we share a few of them.

*  The authors of the Vita Brevis blog.  Vita Brevis is the blog of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

*  Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Roots: A Genealogy Blog.  Harold writes about midwestern resources and professional genealogy issues.

*  Roberta J. Estes on the DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy blog.  Roberta writes about DNA and genetic genealogy issues and her own test results.

Whew.  I could name hundreds more!

4)  Now I have to contact all of these folks?  Later.  Maybe they'll see their name here and accept the award and pass it on.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/one-lovely-blog-award.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Aunt Marion visits San Diego -- Post 324 for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

I am posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't "Wordless" - I am incapable of having a wordless post!

Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family photograph collection from my 40 years of photo albums, boxes and piles of family photographs:

This picture was taken in about 1977 or 1978 in front of the home of Fred and Betty (Carringer) Seaver on Point Loma in San Diego (the house that Betty's parents built in 1951).

The persons in the picture are (from the left):

*  Marion Frances (Seaver) (Braithwaite) Hemphill (1901-2000), my father's oldest sister.
*  Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), my father. 
*  Lori, my daughter, born in 1974, holding the two balloons.

I have no clue why my daughter is in this picture.  Did she sneak in while Marion and Fred were laughing and having a great time?  I'm glad she did, because it helps me date the picture!

This was, I believe, my Aunt Marion's first visit to San Diego, and my first interaction with her.  She hadn't seen my father for about 40 years.  My father came west from Massachusetts in December 1940 and never returned to Massachusetts.  They had a lot of catching up to do!  Marion's views of Fred growing up were a lot different than Fred's views...Marion was the oldest sister who was tasked with minding her two little brothers.  She saw their activities as mischief, and the boys saw them as fun.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/aunt-marion-visits-san-diego-post-324.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Down the Rabbit Trail - the Asa Seaver (1797-????) Family

Every so often I am asked to help someone with a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) application for a Seaver descendant, usually with New England ancestry.

The most recent request was for information for the Asa Seaver (1797-????) family.  He was the son of Joshua and Esther (Russell) Seaver  of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, per Brookline N.H. town records.  He married Abigail Turner (?) before 1820, and had at least five children between 1820 and 1830.  Then Asa Seaver disappears, and my correspondent, and myself, have found no trace of him in New England records.

1)  I needed to figure out how I had Asa and his family in my database, so I dug out my copy of the typescript by Jesse Montgomery Seaver, titled The Seaver Genealogy, published in 1924 (I found it first on an FHL microfilm).  In 1900, another Seaver researcher transcribed it, and sent out a PDF of it to several Seaver/Sever researchers.

Asa Seaver is #604 in the typescript - here is an image of the page:

There is not much information about Asa or his wife Abigail Turner; no birth date, marriage date or death dates.  Five children are listed with birth years, and some more information, for three of the children.

From past experience, I know that Jesse Montgomery Seaver contacted every Seaver person by mail and telephone that  he could find in the years (decades) before he published his typescript.  He received personal letters, Bible page transcripts, record summaries, gravestone inscriptions, etc. from his correspondents.  In some cases, Jesse's typescript is the only resource I have for Seaver families.  Asa Seaver was one of those.

The only definite record that I have found online for Asa and Abigail Seaver are their 15 January 1819 marriage record in Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire.  They are listed as Asa Seaver and Abigail Turner in the History of the Town of Durham, N.H. on Google Books.

Another possible record is the 1830 U.S. Census record for a family in Somersworth, Strafford County, New Hampshire headed by an Abigail Seaver (aged 30-39) with four children between the ages of 5 and 14.  However, those ages don't fit the ages in the Seaver typescript, so this may not be the same Abigail Seaver.

There are no census records for Asa at all, from 1820 to 1880, and none for Abigail other than the one for 1830.  Of course, she may have married again.

My correspondent was especially interested in proving that Robert Russell Seaver was the son of Asa and Abigail Seaver.

2)  I had already found records for Robert Russell Seaver (1820-1891) and Elizabeth E. Seaver (1822-????), children of Asa and Abigail (Turner) Seaver.  Did they hold clues that identify anything about Asa and Abigail?  Here are the records I found for the children:

*  A marriage record of Russell R. Seaver of Malden and Susan C. Ayers in Medford, Massachusetts on 11 April 1846 was found.  No parents names were mentioned.  

*  The death record of Russell Seaver on 6 May 1891 in Wakefield, Massachusetts was found in the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 collection on www.AmericanAncestors.  This record provided this information:

**  Age 70-8-17 at death, which calculates to a birth date of 19 August 1820.
**  Birthplace of Rochester, Strafford County, New Hampshire.
**  Parents names of Robert A. and Abigail
**  Birthplaces of parents of Brookline N.H. and Durham N.H.

*  No marriage record of Elizabeth E. Seaver and Benjamin Tarbox was found in New England records on Ancestry, FamilySearch or AmericanAncestors.  However, birth records for two of the Tarbox children were found in the 1850-1860 time frame, which listed Elizabeth's birth place as Rochester, Strafford County, New Hampshire.

*  A death record for Elisabeth E. (Seaver) Tarbox on 25 March 1866 in Boston was found in the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-=1910 collection, which provided this information:

**  Age 43-6-9 at death, which calculates to a birth date of 16 June 1822.
**  Birthplace of Rochester, Strafford County, New Hampshire.
**  Parents names of Asa and Abigail
**  Birthplaces of parents of Durham, N.H. for both.

*  A death record for Sophronia A. Seaver on 2 February 1913 in Malden, Massachusetts was found in the Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915 collection on www.AmericanAncestors.org:

The death record provides this information:

**  Age 88-1 at death, which calculates to about January 1825.
**  Birthplace of Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire
**  Parents names are Asa Seaver and Abigail Furness
**  Parents birthplaces are both Somersworth, Strafford County, New Hampshire.
**  The informant was Frank M. Tarbox, one of the children of Benjamin and Elizabeth E. (Seaver) Tarbox.  

*  I found no records whatsoever for the last two children of Asa and Abigail - Charles A. Seaver and Susan Seaver.

3)  In trying to evaluate the record information collected, there are discrepancies (as there almost always are in disparate records).  They include:

*  Robert Russell Seaver's name - the Seaver transcript called him Robert Russell Seaver, but his marriage record says Russell R. and his death record indicates Russell.  The 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 census records also called him Russell.  The "Robert Russell" may have come from Jesse Seaver's correspondence with a family member.

*  Names of the parents of Russell, Elizabeth and Sophronia:  Jesse Seaver's typescript says Asa Seaver and Abigail Turner.  Russell's says Robert A., Elizabeth's says Asa and Abigail, and Sophronia names them as Asa Seaver and Abigail Furness.   I have no explanation for the Robert A. - perhaps Asa was Robert Asa or Asa Robert.

*  Birthplaces of Asa Seaver:  Russell's record says Brookline, Elizabeth's says Durham, N.H., and Sophornia's says Somersworth, N.H.  Dover, Rochester, Durham and Somersworth are all within a 5-10 mile radius in Strafford County, N.H.

4)  So I've been able to verify, and add, quite a bit of information to the Asa Seaver family biography in the Jesse Seaver typescript.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to help my correspondent find a clear link of Robert Russell Seaver to Asa and Abigail (Furness) Seaver.  If Russell's death record had said his father was Asa, then that might be sufficient.  But it doesn't say that!  My guess is that the correspondents of Jesse Seaver had some family records that provided the information that Jesse used in his typescript.

I have recommended to my correspondent to look for guardianship and probate records for Asa and Abigail Seaver in several New Hampshire counties, and for land records in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

5)  Where else would you recommend searching?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/down-rabbit-trail-asa-seaver-1797-family.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research to Offer Unique Opportunities in Genealogical Education

I received this announcement today about a new genealogical education opportunity:

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Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research to Offer Unique Opportunities in Genealogical Education

RALEIGH, North Carolina, 9 September 2014. Professional genealogists Catherine W. Desmarais, CG, Michael Hait, CG, and Melanie D. Holtz, CG, are pleased to announce the formation of the Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research (VIGR). VIGR is a unique educational opportunity for genealogists of all skill levels.

The Institute will offer courses on a wide variety of genealogical subjects, providing “Vigorous” year-round education for the genealogical community using a virtual platform. Each course will consist of a total of four 90-minute lectures, two each presented on consecutive Saturdays, extensive syllabus material, and practical exercises. Limited class sizes of only one hundred registrants per course allows for a higher level of class participation and instructor feedback than typically offered by genealogy webinars.

Courses are currently planned around the topics of genealogical writing, advanced methodology, DNA testing and analysis, and cultural, regional, or record-based research strategies.

Many of these subject matters—as well as the depth of instruction—have never before been offered in a virtual format and are ideal for genealogists around the world. “VIGR will allow genealogists who work a full-time job or have limited travel budgets to more easily advance their genealogical skills,” Institute co-administrator Melanie D. Holtz stated.

Registration for each course will cost $69.99 and includes digital video recordings of all four lectures, available within two weeks of the close of each course.

For more information on the Institute and to register for upcoming courses, visit www.vigrgenealogy.com and subscribe to the mailing list for updates on future courses.

UPCOMING COURSES

Michael Hait, CG, “Writing Logical Proof Arguments,” 1 November–8 November 2014

J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, “Preparing the Field: Understanding the Agricultural Records of our Ancestors,” 24 January–31 January 2015

Maureen Taylor, “Family Photographs: Identifying, Preserving, and Sharing Your Visual Heritage,” 21 February–28 February 2015

Donna Moughty, “Strategies for Finding Your Irish Ancestors,” 7 March–14 March 2015

Blaine Bettinger, “(Finally!) Understanding Autosomal DNA,” 21 March–28 March 2015

Billie Stone Fogarty and Rick Fogarty, “Verifying the Family Legend of Native American Ancestry,” 18 April–25 April 2015

Melanie D. Holtz, CG, and Melissa Johnson, “Genealogical Applications of Dual Citizenship by Descent,” 2 May-9 May 2015

Paul Milner, “An In-Depth Look at the 'Big Four' Records of English Research,” 30 May -- 6 June 2015

Angela McGhie, “Digging in Federal Land Records,” 19 September-26 September 2015

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

VIGR: Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research

www.vigrgenealogy.com

================================

This sounds really interesting - rather than travel to Salt Lake City, Samford, Pittsburgh, Detroit, or Washington DC, for a weeklong institute on a specific subject, these courses are offered for a reasonable fee in a webinar format, presumably with some sort of interaction with the presenters.  

This virtual institute will be convenient for persons who are unable take the time off, who are unable to travel, or are unable to afford the weeklong seminars with the travel and daily hotel and food expenses in addition to the institute fee.

What is lost in a virtual seminar like this is the inter-personal interaction between students and the instructors and other students.  In addition, the plan is 6 hours on a specific topic, while the weeklong institutes feature up to 30 hours on a specific topic.  

It's not clear to me if the presentations will be archived so that registrants can access the videos for a period longer than two weeks after the live presentations.  How much interaction between the instructors and the students will there be, and how will it be accomplished?  Can it be done after the live presentations?  

All in all, this looks to me like an excellent addition to the genealogy education universe.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/virtual-institute-of-genealogical.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Technology Tuesday - Ancestry.com Updated Mobile App - Hints

Ancestry.com recently updated its mobile app for iPad, iPod and iPhone - you can read the press release in Ancestry.com Mobile App Has New Features.  I don't know when they will update the mobile app for Android and Windows 8.  The mobile app is FREE from the App Store on the iOS products, and from Google Play for Android products.

In Technology Tuesday -- Updated Ancestry.com Mobile App (posted 2 September 2014), I reviewed most of the new features of the mobile app, with the exception of Hints, Searching and the DNA portion.  The Ancestry.com Mobile App interacts with a user's Ancestry Member Tree on the Ancestry.com website.

Here is the process to use the Hints feature on the updated Ancestry.com mobile app:

1)  In the Tree View, find a person with a green leaf:

2)  I tapped on Cornelius A. Carringer on the screen above to see his profile:

3)  To see the Hints, I tapped on the "Hints" link - there are 7 Hints for him!  Here is the Hints screen:

The screen tells me I have 7 Unreviewed Hints.

4)  I tapped on the 1880 U.S. Census record Hint on the screen above, and saw the "Record Details:"

The screen above compares the information in the record (on the left) and the information in the tree (on the right).  Scrolling down, I can see more details of the comparison between the record and the tree:

5)  This is the same person, so I tapped on the green "Add Record" button:

The screen above tells me that the Residence Date and Residence Location will be added to the Ancestry Member Tree.  I could tap on the circles for Name, Birth Date and birth Location and add them to the Tree also.

6)  I tapped the "Next" link (in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen above) and the "Family" members also in the census record appeared.  

I could tap on each name and determine which Facts to add for them in the Ancestry Member Tree (not shown).

7)  I tapped on the "Save" link (upper right-hand corner) and was back to the list of "Hints:"

The screen above indicates that I now have one "Accepted" Hint for Cornelius A. Carringer (and his family in the 1880 U.S. Census).

This "Hints" feature is very easy to use to add Facts, record images and sources to your Ancestry Member Tree.  

8)  With this mobile app, I can access my Ancestry Member Tree anywhere that I have an Internet connection through my iPhone, iPad or iPod.  I can see Hints, add them to a person profile, or ignore them.  I can search Ancestry.com for more information about the person.  This is truly my family tree in my pocket.

However, I can't see everything in the Ancestry Member Tree, which is unfortunate.  Perhaps source citations and fact notes will be added in future updates.

This is a very powerful tool.  If you invite your family members to be guests or editors to your Ancestry Member Tree, then they can download the FREE Ancestry.com mobile app and have your family tree (with their ancestors) in their pocket also!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/technology-tuesday-ancestrycom-updated.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

What Happened to the "Suggested Records" on Ancestry.com?

I was searching away in the census records on Ancestry.com today, and realized that I wasn't seeing any "Suggested Records" on the right-hand side of the search screen of a Record Summary.

For example, here is Isaac Seaver's Record Summary for the 1900 U.S. Census taken today:

There are no "Suggested Records" on the right-hand side of the screen above.  There used to be...last week?  For months before that!

I knew that "Suggested Records" were also called "Related Content" on the record image page - here is the screen shot for the 1900 Census record for Isaac Seaver:

 Nope.  Nada.  I wonder why?  did they disappear these "Suggested Records" because they had complaints about them?  Or they weren't accurate enough?  Or is it just my account?  Or has Ancestry.com changed something recently intentionally (or by mistake)?

I checked other census years - 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 - with no "Suggested Records" showing up.  None showed up on Isaac Seaver's vital records.  Or on the census and other records of ten other ancestors.

For reference purposes, here is a screen shot of the 1900 U.S. Census Record Summary for Isaac Seaver taken 9 March 2014:

As you can see, the "Suggested Records" column is full of suggested records for this person.

I loved the "Suggested Records" because they really short-circuited my research.  I didn't have to go back to a general search to find a record in another database.  While they weren't perfect, they were very useful to me, especially for finding non-census records for persons.

I went into my Ancestry Member Tree, and the Hints were still there, including the other census records, the vital records, etc. that are on the list of Suggested Records on the screen above.

If I have a vote, I want the "Suggested Records" back ASAP!!

I hope that Ancestry.com will tell us what happened here, and why they were removed.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/what-happened-to-suggested-records-on.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

2014 Genealogy Rockstars Voting is Open!

John D. Reid has announced that voting is open for the 2014 Genealogy Rockstars - see his blog post Rockstar Genealogist(s) 2014: Voting now Open.

There are over 150 candidates for Genealogy Rockstars, including many noted genealogical speakers, writers, video and television stars.  The list is alphabetical by last name.  Yes, i'm on the list for some reason...so vote for me if you decide I'm a rockstar.

The link to VOTE is  https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/vtCKle. 

I voted early this morning.  I decided beforehand that I would vote for only ten persons.  Then I saw the list and managed to limit it to 20.  

I think that a person can only vote once, so make sure you double check the list when you do vote. 

I don't know when the voting period closes.  It's probably about 15 September 2014.

The past winners (overall, various countries) of the Rockstar Genealogists can be read at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/search?q=rockstar+2013

 The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/2014-genealogy-rockstars-voting-is-open.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

2015 FGS Conference Special Early-Bird Price Ends September 12th

I received this press release from the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS):

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2015 FGS Conference Special Early-Bird Price Ends September 12

Connect.Explore.Refresh — A Conference for the Nation’s Genealogists

September 8, 2014 – Austin, TX. Registration for the 2015 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference opened on August 27, 2014 with a special early-bird discount registration price of $139. That two-week special price ends on Friday, September 12, 2014. Beginning September 13, the price for a full FGS registration increases to $159. The upgrade pass to add-on RootsTech remains $39. Register now to pay the lowest registration price.

The FGS 2015 conference will be held February 11–14, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah in conjunction with RootsTech. Visitwww.FGSconference.org to learn how those two conferences will operate while sharing the Salt Palace Convention Center and to find out about sessions, speakers, luncheons, special events, and hotels.

Subscribe to the FGS Voice blog at www.voice.fgs.org and FGS social media channels (links available atwww.FGSconference.org) to keep up with the latest news and announcements about the 2015 conference.

See you in Salt Lake City in February. 

About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and represents the members of hundreds of genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow through resources available online, FGS Forum magazine (filled with articles pertaining to society management and genealogical news), and Society Strategy Series papers, covering topics about effectively operating a genealogical society. FGS also links the genealogical community through its annual conference -- four days of excellent lectures, including one full day devoted to society management topics. To learn more visit http://www.fgs.org.

Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FGSgenealogy), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/FGSgenealogy) and on our blog at (http://voice.fgs.org).

================================

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/2015-fgs-conference-special-early-bird.html

Amanuensis Monday - Post 234: 1929 Hearing and Decree in Devier J. Smith Probate File in Red Willow County, Nebraska

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is a 1929 hearing, and resulting Decree of the Court to define heirship of the estate of Devier J. Smith in Red Willow County, Nebraska:

The transcription of this document is (handwritten portions in italics):

01  IN THE COUNTY COURT OF RED WILLOW COUNTY, NEBR.

02  In the Matter of the Estate of  }                          DECREE #1992

03  Devier J. Smith, Deceased.    }

04  On this 30th day of December, 1929, this cause

05  came on for hearing to the Court at the hour of 10 o'clock

06  A.M., on the Petition of John E. Kelley and the evidence.

07        The Court finds that Devier J. Smith departed

08  this life intestate in Red Willow County, Nebraska, on

09  December 24, 1900.

10         The Court further finds that at the time of the

11  death of said Devier J. Smith he was seized in fee of the

12  following described real estate, situated in Red Willow County,

13  Nebraska, to-wit:

14  Lot Seven (7), in Block Thirty (30), in the Original Town of

15  McCook;

16         The Court further finds that subsequent to the death 

17  of Devier J. Smith the Petitioner became the owner of said real

18  estate by purchase and conveyance thereof to him, the said

19  John E. Kelley.

20         The Court further finds that more than two years

21  have elapsed since the deathj of Devier J. Smith and that no

22  application has been made in the State of Nebraska

23  for the appointment of an administrator, wither by the heirs of

24  said deceased, or by persons claiming to be creditors of his

25  or otherwise.

26         The Court further finds that the heirs and next of

27  kin of said Devier J. Smith at the time of his death were as

28  follows:  his widow, Abbie A. Smith; a son David D. Smith 

29  and two daughters, Matie Chenery and Della A. Carringer.

30         It is therefore Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed and

31  Determined by the Court; that Devier J. Smith died intestate;

32  that the Petitoner, John E. Kelley became the owner in fee

33  of the above described premises by purchase and conveyance to

34  him.  That there are no creditors of said estate; that more

35  than two years have elapsed since the death of said Devier

36  J. Smith; that the sole heirs at law and next of kin of said

37  Devier J. Smith at the time of his death were as follows:

38  his widow, Abbie A. Smith; a son David D. Smith and two 

39  daughters, Matie Chenery and Della A. Carringer, and as such 

40  heirs inherited the said above described real estate, to-wit:

41  Lot Seven (7), Block Thirty (30) in the Original Town of

42  McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska.

43                                                            A. L. Zink               

44                                                           County Judge.

45 {seal}

The source citation for this record is:

Hearing and Decree, by John E. Kelley, 25 November 1929, Estate of Devier J. Smith file folder No. 1992, Red Willow County, Nebraska, Probate Court, McCook, Nebraska (accessed 11 July 2014 by Chris Christensen).

The first paper in this probate file was displayed and transcribed in Amanuensis Monday - Post 230: 1929 Petition for Determination of Heirship of Devier J. Smith Estate (posted 11 August 2014).  I also explained the "back story," how I obtained images of this probate file, and Devier J. Smith's relationships in the first blog post.  Several other papers were provided in Amanuensis Monday - Post 233: More Papers in 1929 Devier J. Smith Probate File in Red Willow County, Nebraska (posted 1 September 2014).  This post completes the transcription of the papers in the probate file of Devier J. Smith.

I think the explanation for this probate record (35 years after the death of Devier J. Smith on 1 May 1894) lies in the newspaper record described in My Smiths owed tax money! (posted 28 January 2010).  The newspaper notice reads:

"SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION.

"Abbie Smith, David D. Smith, Leva Smith, Matie Chenery, Della Carringer, ----- Carringer, husband of Della Carringer, whose first name is unknown to plaintiff, as heirs at law of Devier J. Smith, deceased, defendants, will take notice that John E. Kelley has filed his petition in the District court of Red Willow County, Nebraska, the object and prayer of which is to foreclose a lien for the delinquent taxes legally assessed and levied on lot number seven (7) in block number thirty (30) in the original town of McCook, in said county, for the years 1891, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, for which taxes said lot was sold to the said John E. Kelley, by the treasurer of said county on September 24, 1900, at a private tax sale. There is now due plaintiff on said tax sale the sum of $29.12, with 20 percent interest thereon from September 24, 1900, and an attorney's fee equal to ten percent of the amount of the decree entered herein, and plaintiff prays for a decree that the defendants be required to pay said sum or that said premises be sold to satisfy the said amount due for taxes, attorney's fees and the costs of this action. You are required to answer said petition on or before Monday the 15th day of July, A.D. 1901.

"John E. Kelley, Plaintiff.

"McCook, Nebraska, May 29, 1901."

On 23 November 1902, another item appeared in the "Equity Cases" section of the McCook newspaper, which reads:

"John E. Kelley vs. Abbie Smith. Dismissed."

But why did John E. Kelley file the petition to determine heirship of Devier J. Smith?  I think it was because he did not have a deed to the property.  In order to sell the land, he needed a deed, but, apparently, no deed was recorded when he paid the delinquent taxes and was awarded the property in 1901 at a private tax sale.  He required a court record that identified the previous owner, who died intestate, and decreed that he was the legal owner of the property.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/09/amanuensis-monday-post-234-hearing-and.html

copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 31 August to 6 September 2014

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:

*  My Top Ten Genealogical Discoveries -- So Far! by Betty Tartas on Betty's Boneyard Genealogy Blog.  Betty has made many great discoveries over 15 years of research!

*  My "Must Have" List of Top 10 Genealogy Websites by Christine Blythe on the Empty Nest Genealogy blog.  Great list - everyone has a different list!

*  Amelia! What is Your Maiden Name? by Heather Wiliinson Rojo on the Nutfield Genealogy blog.  Heather is still searching for it after 35 years.

*  In-Depth Review of a Record Leads to a Genealogy Solution! by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog. Lorine looked at the original record, and thinks she has found her husband's Irish immigrant ancestor.

*  Family History Benefits for Youth, Part 2 by Janet Hovorka on the Zap the Grandma Gap blog.  Janet talks about perspective and emotional benefits that youth receive from family history.

*  Promoting Your Blog Without (Much) Bloodshed by Jenny Lanctot on the Are My Roots Showing? blog.  Jenny offers tips for promoting your blog.

*  When is a Wilkerson a Wilkinson? by Ken MacKinlay on the Family Tree Knots blog.  Ken solves his name variation problem with land records in Ontario.

*  Your Immigrant Ancestor: Genealogy Research Tips by Gena Philibert-Ortega on the GenealogyBank Blog.  Newspapers are a great source of information about your immigrant ancestors.

*  Personal Property:  None by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  How can that be?  It's because of the law, of course!

*  Some Comments About ProGen by Jill K. Morelli on the Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal blog.  Jill lists pros and cons of taking the ProGen course.

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:

*  Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for September 5, 2014 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Genealogy News Corral: Sept 1-5 by Diane Haddad on the Genealogy Insider blog.

*  What We Are Reading: September 5 Edition by Amy Johnson Crow on the Ancestry.com Blog.

*  Friday Finds - 09/05/14 by Julie Cahill Tarr on Julie's Genealogy & History Hub blog.

*  This Week's Creme de la Creme by Gail Dever on the Genealogy a la Carte blog.

*  Saturday Serendipity (September 6, 2014) by John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism 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 1540 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/2014/09/best-of-genea-blogs-31-august-to-6.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver