Looking at it again

I love the phrase, "Teach what you love." I have used that phrase through the years often with wonderful and surprising results. But did you know that teaching genealogy can help you find clues for your own research? It does happens to me...

I was giving a presentation recently and was using the rule of thumb for documents: that most documents we use in genealogy are standard after 1900. Using that I showed my grandparents' marriage record and that of my ancestors' in 1829 for comparison. Staring right at me is the name of the person who married them, Levi Meech. Funny how you can look at  document over and over again and miss a little clue that that!

Sure enough, there he was in Baptist Missionary Magazine donating money at the convention in 1849 thus confirming  yet another connection with my Browns to the Caswells.
https://books.google.com/books?id=1APPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=levi+meech&source=bl&ots=6WDMHgb1ra&sig=nOlif0s7BlzRX07nZYy6-LKlcFc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W_CTVY2XBsjGsAXl173gCA&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=levi%20meech&f=false

Isn't genealogy fun?!

When the genealogy bites-HARD!

My sisters were never really interested in genealogy. My youngest sister would drive around with me and send me things as she found them, she didn't have the time to look for me. Our middle sister could care even less... until last summer. What a gem to have her help! She has even taken pictures of cows for me!

So what does a cow have to with genealogy? She spent an entire day driving around looking for a small cemetery on a back road. She went by the same area three times before the said cow, mooed, and ran towards the cemetery she was looking for. It gives a new meaning to cow tipping.

Then she has made friends at the local historical societies that I have been trying to get to visit. The result? Two books on the local history and a stack of records.

Have faith that one your siblings/cousins/relatives get bitten by the genealogy bug. And let's hope they get it bitten hard. :)

Browns of eastern Connecticut

I am inspired! Every time I attend the NERGC conference (This year it was Providence, RI!) I come back home ready to sort through my dropped keys aka brick walls.

And of course the biggest "dropped key" are my Browns. It wouldn't be bad if there was one Brown or two, but the last count I had was five-three direct line; two relatives of the other three who married Browns. I have been focusing my research to see if the five are connected.  Separating them has helped too. But they keep returning to the same families.

I am getting closer to my answers. I just need to go back to the local location or to the Connecticut State Library to research.

The biggest clue is the Baptist church connection. I separated all the Browns married by Simeon and Ebenezer Brown including my Sabra/Sabrina and have been focusing on the families. Most of them are showing up in the Chad Brown Genealogy except for my Sabrina. By creating a chart showing which Brown was married by Ebenezer and Simeon I have been able to place everyone but my Sabrina and another person, Lucy Brown. (I have my fingers crossed that the two may be related!)

I am also focusing on Amos Brown who married Eunice Turner. They had a daughter Sabra who married and moved to upstate NY. the reason why I am focusing on them is that their naming patterns of children matches my Sabrina's children. Even the use of Sabra and Sabrina in their family records makes my genealogy antennae stand straight up. My theory is to focus Amos's brothers and see if my Sabrina pops in their records.

Of course I need to look at the church records too! (Fortunately they are on microfilm at the Connecticut State Library!)

My second line of Browns is my Zeruiah/Zerviah Buttolph who married Squire Richard Brown. The family Bible states his father is Silvanus/Sylvanus. I do find a Squire Richard Brown in the Brown genealogy with no other information. And remarkably these two do show up in -of all genealogies-the Cleveland Genealogy.

Bug eyed? Yes! But I have a feeling that the more I sort the Browns, the closer I am to getting an answer.

(BTW-next NERGC conference is in Springfield MA in 2017.)

Little star

A quick tip of the day: Use the * when conducting a search on any database or search engine.

I couldn't find a family member in NJ -even though I knew he was living in Paterson. (The city directories showed him there!) By using the first three letters of his name followed by an asterisk, I found him!

Amazing what a cute little star can do for a genealogist!

The genealogy future

I may have posted something similar a few years ago. But since then some things have happened to make me rethink my genealogical research. Between 1860 (give or take a few years) and 2000 we have had the luxury of looking for our ancestors in traditional resources-census records, church records, obituaries, and city directories-just to name a few. But think for a second. How will the future genealogists find us?

Would they look for us in the city directory or phone book? Think about it...when was the last time you saw a phone book let alone find yourself in it?

Ok, you are thinking perhaps in a newspaper or obituary. True. But think about how many people are bypassing newspapers and going for online newspapers. Perhaps if future genealogists are very lucky, they may find an online article about you. But I know quite a few people-including family members- who have chosen not to have an obituary published. (The good news is that funeral homes have been publishing them online. There is that one constant source still available!)

Church records? More and more people are not following the traditional routes of church memberships. Churches are not seeing the memberships they had in the 1960s and 1970s.

Social security records? You have to wait 3 years before you can see someone who passed in 2015. Could a future Congress close all of these records?

School records? My district keeps those private.

Census records? I am wondering what we will see when the 1950 and 1960 census are released.. And the last census form I filled out in 2010 had very little of information for the genealogist.

Land records are still a good source-if you purchased property. And of course tax records will be available. I wonder if  the IRS records would one day place these records in the National Archives?

It is very hopeful that the future genealogists will be able to type a name and find something online. But what if the unthinkable happens? How will the future genealogist find you?

The Genealogy Roadshow on PBS is back. I watched the first episode on demand and still have that the feeling that I had when I first saw it last year. "More, please!" I loved the first episode of the year and can't wait until Tuesday night to see "more" of the show.

The stories from the first show were fabulous. I enjoyed each and everyone of them. My favorite was the Mardi Gras queen seeking out her family history and her involvement with the Mardi Gras parade. I felt and understood her anger and wanted to hug and cry with her. But I also want her to know that her ancestor would be proud of the fact that she would remember and honor him and was loved by her family today. I hope they will do a "follow-up" showing her costume honoring his life.

 I loved the story of the couple with the Italian ancestors from the same town. When host Mary Tedesco told the couple that their families probably knew each, the ornery side of me shouted, "More!" I know that with just a little more research they probably would be related to each other. And after having the pleasure to hearing Mary speak last March, I'm certain she knew that too.

I am looking forward to seeing the Philadelphia show. I am certain that I will be shouting, "More, please!" before this episode is over.

Buttolphs of New England

Happy 2015! 2014 slipped by me too quickly. A wedding and many talks later I finally have had a few minutes to blog.

My genealogy focus of 2014 was to further and enrich my research. Years ago I had a cousin send me notes from her grandmother's Bible. The best part was that my second and third great-grandmothers were included in these notes. They showed information about our common ancestors including our other third great-grandmother and her parents' names: Richard Brown and Zeruiah Buttolph. I attempted a search for Richard Brown...especially in New England. And the genealogy goddess was hysterical.

For years I cringed whenever I thought about trying to search the Brown name and will gladly admit that I was a genealogy ostrich-I put my head in the sand and pushed it off.

In my mind I  could hear my second  great-grandmother answering my question: What was your mother's mother's maiden name? Brown.
What was your father's mother's maiden name? Brown

Where they related? No answer because I couldn't find a connection. And that was the reason I put my head in the sand.

In some ways it was probably better that I waited. I gained knowledge and skills for my genealogy repertoire and finally felt I was genealogically strong to attempt to find my Browns. It wasn't easy because we have three Browns married into our Caswells/Wilkinsons families- two at the same generation.

But I did have a juicy, awesome clue on the one line...Richard Brown married Zeruiah Buttolph. Buttolph-now that was a name to sink my genealogy choppers into. And it wasn't long before I was yearning to stick my head in the sand again.

Through research done by previous generations I was able to trace the name from John Buttolph of Boston through Wethersfield and down into eastern CT. But added to the confusion was that there was a string of George Buttolphs. And misinformation galore.

First, the name had numerous spellings-Buttolph, Buttolf, Buttles, Bertles to name a few. Then there were all those Georges. Someone had connected them but with no source documents. The knot  seemed to become tighter with George, the Revolutionary soldier. Unless there was a father and son who served, the George I found died and was buried in Preston, CT. Even his pension records show his residence in eastern CT. But some sources have Chester, MA. I looked and didn't find him there.

A check of genealogies and histories found Revolutionary George listed in the Ancient Families of Wethersfield and in the Cleveland Genealogy. But no references to actual sources...very frustrating! I looked at NEHGS and CT State Library and found Revolutionary George's burial in Preston church records. Finally- a real source!

What perplexes me is why would people continue mistakes when there are great articles in TAG that have addressed mistakes others have made. Even the late Dr. George McCracken attempted to sort the Buttolphs and used the Cleveland  Genealogy and  Ancient Families of Wethersfield as sources.

Sigh...

Internal/External traits

Last week I taught my third graders the importance of character traits. By the time the lesson was over, I was humbled by my little folks' minds and comments. It made realize that genealogy ideas for research and writing can come from any location, place, or setting. Children have the most erratic but flexible minds...that is way I love working with them.

It began with my story of my sea captain, James Peters. I told the class of the time period after the American Revolution when the French began to suspect their new American allies were still friendly to the English and were likely to act like them. Both the English and French navies were impressing American sailors into service and the results leading to the French Spoliation. Fascinated by James Peters' story of hiding his ship logs so that the French Navy couldn't confiscate his cargo, my class assisted me in creating a character traits for him. Here is a snippet of the conversation that day...

"He had to be strong to sail the ship."
"He had to brave to fight off pirates or to sail to places he never had been before."
"What color was his hair?" Which I responded that I didn't know. "It could be possible that it was black and curly like yours."  Hmm... I never thought about that.
"Did he have a beard? That would make a good disguise to hide him from the pirates."
"He could have had blue eyes like you!"
"He had to be smart to hide the his papers."
"Or clever."
"He had to be friendly so he could meet and make new friends." I didn't think of that possibility!
"He had to know how to read maps so he wouldn't get lost."
"He had to know how to read ." I had told him how  1001 Arabian Nights  was in his book collection from his will.
"And he knew how to write ." This was after I told them how one of his letters is recorded in the Congressional Records.
"He could speak French!" piped one little boy. Oui! I didn't think about that!
"He was lonely." When asked to explain, the student said, "He sailed away from his family to help them have a better life. He must have missed them very much."

When we were through I stepped back and examined at the traits. Whether or not these traits were right, it gave me a moment to reflect on what I learned. Thanks to my students I was able to understand my ancestor a little better.

New London Custom House Records

I’m taking a break from the Tabor Bankruptcy files to share what a custom house blotter may look like. The following information is from NARA (Boston) New London custom House blotter for two weeks in 1795. The first number I need to verify but may be the ship size/weight. The “S” is an abbreviation for sloop. The name of the ship is given followed by the captain’s name.  Places in the document where I wasn’t certain of the symbol/writing I used this: (?)  There were times when  a number was written followed by the letter c with a line through it. I transcribed it with the letter c.  To see what the size of the ships, visit Rob Ossian’s “Pirate King” website.  (I love his site for the information he gives!) http://www.thepirateking.com/ships/ship_types.htm

New London Customs House Blotter

Wednesday 17 June 1795

20          Certificate for goods Coastwise S. Phebe-Leeds, S. Betsey , Dart
150      Entered from Middletown Brig William & George  Josiah Benton

            (?) Cleared from the same for Lusinam (?) 1771/2 beef (?) 196 1/2 pork, 10 fish, 21 lard, 38 horses, 150 pairs of nankeens, 3 hhd. (hogsheads) hams, 4 of shoes, 10 of books, 6 hogs, 10 poultry, 7 candles, 4 butter, 9 ton of hay, 500 oats, 58 hhd.  6 c bread

Thursday 18

50        Cleared for New York S. Juno Rob. Niles

            Certif. goods coastwise Peabody & Huntington

25        Entered from New York, S. Sally  Daniel Harris

Friday 19

150      Entered from N York S. Hiram  James Peters

            Cleared from Hispaniola Brig Betsy Ezra Caulkins                                                                                    43 pork, 107 beef, 5 fish, 8c Fish, 15 lard, 18 butter, 31 beans,                                                                       128 books, 24 hats @/8/ 430 cheese, 40 horses, 14 sheep, 21 boards                                                1500 slarus(? staves) 172 shingles. 9 ½ hay, 280 oats, 77 Cow, 7c bread, berthd

150      Entered Middleton B. Juno Isaac Burr / (?)                                                                                               Cleared for St. Bartholomews, 14 horses, 12, cattle, 17 mules                                                      83 fish, 17 pork (?) 18 beef, 128 meal, 16 d (? Probably dozen) 2 m boards, 2 m Slairus (?staves)            

3 m hoops,16 t head, 30 beams, 120 cow, 9 hay, 500 oats, 50 hhds.       

Change 100 Cleared for Nantz (?) Sloop Democrat James Lamphere                                                    210 barrel flour, 120 barrel, meal, 13 bales of cotton 431@                                                                  2 hhd. Rum 211 gallons, 300 p shoes, 2 half T (?)s rice, 1 box                                                            hats 100 doll

Saturday 20

This notation is clustered together:  

110.46//150    Entered from Philadelphia B. Betsy Eben Hotchkiss

            6.65     Luineced (? Probably licensed ) for fishing /to trade at foreign port Sloop

            50        Two Friends  Jonathan Crary

            25

Change 20

31  49 tos//126 for S Md

Second page

Blotter Monday 22 June 1795

25        Licensed for coasting  Sch. Ranger Groton John Widger

Clustered together

825 tons // 51 ENTERED from Liverpool & New York Ship

(No. 52) 150   Charlotte Samuel p. Fitch

Surrey (?) 300

Tonnage pd. In N York 12 June

Tuesday 23

20        Permit to Paul Cancand Schooner Co cotte  cleared from                                                             N York for  Portaupaix to land his baggage

25        Entered from N York S. Hiram Wm. Pigon

Wednesday 24

100      Enrolled & Licensed Sloop Two Brothers N London

Clustered together

20.88 tons//125         Henry Norris

50        Licensed for Codfishery Sch. Union of Groton Wm. Sloan

Change 20

29(?) 47//97 for g m d

            Cleared for Jamica Snow Adolphe of New London

Measuring 200 William Briggs  Master

            3791 Whiteoak Staves, 22816 black oak d(? maybe ditto?) 161337 of pine board

            6 beef, 6 pork 6 bread

20        Certificate that Elijah Ely is owner of  Sch. Patty

N.R. 175 Enrolled & Licensed  Sch. Polly, Stonington Peleg Noyes for

25        Fishing & license to trade at a foreign Port

36.54 tons// 219 Friday 26

50        Cleared for New York Sch. L. Washington, Colver

Saturday 27

40        Endorsed John Smith Master of S. Lively instead of D. Belding

100      Enrolled & Licensed Sloop Polly Stonington Joseph Latham

21~84//131 Brig Zeleared (?)for N York B Sally. Geo W. Champlin

    225  Cleared for West Indies S. Hiram J Peters, 104 s corn, 300 pease                                 

1,50     150 Meal , 50 flour, 1140 Staves, 17 shakes, 125 sheep, 4 hhd tobacco, 2 fish

            Cleared for West Indies, S. William  John French 39 mules                                                                    11 pork, 17  beef, 37 beams, 1 lb meats, 55 fish, 10 butter, 2 lard                                                       1 box cheese, 19 bundle hoops, 5 bread, 34 c staves, 7 ton hay, 24 hats a 151                                 10 ream paper ad 181 half lb shad, 43 hhd, 200 oats, color pottery

 

 

 

 

           

More of the same...

Please note that where there was a (?) was either a letter or word unreadable.

Page 3

Amount of Debts proved Brot. (brought) over

Ledyard and Whert                         $267.60
Isaac Williams note                          $287.00
Elias Perkins note signed A. Morgan        $1009.78
Amos Hull                                            $56.97
Amos Wheeler                                  $71.34
Crossed off William Chippotle    $117.50
Peter Avery  G(?)                             $83.72
Lawrance Van  Lunderen of New York City           $364.70
Isaac Carias                                         $159.39
L---an P. Chew                                  $720. 28
John Deshon                                      $4.79
Crossed off                                         $23529.58
Crossed off Elizabeth Turner       $63.33
James Noyes                                     $74.90
John B. Stanton                                                $51.67
Joseph D. Phelps                              $27.60
Michael Huntley                               $4.52
David Churchill                                  $30.67
Joseph Foot                                       $55.87
Almy &Brown                                    $285.48
Rufus Mason                                     $46.87
John Mumford                                  $125.10
Richard Chappell                              $121.71
Robert Wheeler                                               $135.67
John Noyes balance of a note in far (?) of Eleazer Clark of Lyme $154.50
1803 July 19 Richard J (?)  Hallett                $161.75
Stanton Lergo (?)                             $9.00
Continued forward                         $24907.76

 

More form the Bankruptcy record of Job Tabor

Please note that where there is a (?) it is either a letter or word unreadable.

Page 2
The second page carried over from the first…
Amount of debts Brot. (brought) over                   $15144.28 (yes…2 cents higher!)
John French                       $352.34
James Catterel                  $41.34
Samuel Hurbert bond from custom house            $381.34
Francis Hazard $18.99 and $17.68 crossed off
David Wait                          $9.96
Caddington Billings          $120.35
Latham Hull                        $104.06
Rinadam(?) Williams       $157.65
Amos Hull                            $202.37
John Avery                         $19.53
Elizabeth Proctor              $105.36
Pardon Tabor                     $517.83 (could be a relative of Job’s)
Ditto                                      $43.75 then $561.58
Richard Douglass              $214.84
Samuel Corss(?)                               $654.98
William Holray (?)             $203
Charles T. Smith and Shubel Smith $1106.78
Jared Starr                          $2.00
Ephraim Williams              $20.11
Nathaniel Ledyard           $32
John I.Glover                     $975.70
Jonathan Starr as assignee for the creditors of William Woodworth $123.36
Elijah Baley                         $7.00
Isaac Turner                       $225
Crossed off I(?)aez Holms
Francis R. Winthrop         $77.59
Gurdon Manwaring        $191.87
Joseph (?)oot                    $34.10
Continued forward         $21024.61

 

Bankruptcy Records part 1

The next groups of blogs will focus upon the list of names found in the bankruptcy records for Job Tabor and Stephen Tripp. This is the first set of records. Each group is a hand-written page...

As I was transcribing this it was interesting to find two women on the list, Lucy Smith and Ann B. Coit. To calculate what it is worth, use an inflation calculator. Try a few- I found the total for this first page was worth in today’s cost is roughly $300,000.

Any place with a (?) is a word/letter I could not read or decipher.

First page
No. 1
New London District of Connecticut, March 17, 1803 Debts proved against Misters Tabor and Trip NegT (?)
Asahel Otis                         $61.62
Samuel Mather                 $1513.25
William W. Houghton     $196.89
Stephen Prentice             $22.12
George Williams               $103.87
Ephraim Browning           $326.37
                                                $2224.12
Crossed out Thomas Williams
Jonathan Starr & sons    $144.58
Jacob B. Gurley                 $1520.35
John Beckwith                   $86.50
James Baxter                     $241.19
Daniel Chapman               $486.56
Bonds for the Custom house as Jed. Huntington Collector statement
                                                $2098.84
Gabriel Sistar                     $839.09
Vaux (?) Huret (?) & Franklin
                                                $225.84
Lucy Smith                          $31. 99
Samuel Hayes                    $300
Ditto                                      $759.93
Crossed off                         $4059.95
Ann B. Coit                          $95.43
Lemuel Wells & Company            $287.42
John Arnold                        $4460.00
Edward Chappell              $1246.90
Ditto                                      $42.95
Written small $1289.85
                                                $15144.26
Continued forward

 

 

 

Job Tabor/Taber’s Bankruptcy Record

Before delving into the records I wanted to see, the archivist in the NARA research room explained about the 1800 US Bankruptcy Act. The sole purpose of the act was for district justices to review, administer, and oversee bankruptcy cases.  This act allowed creditors to go after merchants. There had to be two thirds agreement with all creditors and forced merchants into bankruptcy. With a sunset clause of five years, it created corruption and excessive costs and was repealed in 1803 by Congress.  The Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC has an online timeline which gives a brief synopsis of the 1800 Act and history of bankruptcy in the US. http://www.rib.uscourts.gov/newhome/docs/the_evelution_of_bankruptcy_law.pdf

It was in this time period which Job Tabor faced bankruptcy. In Box 10 of 11,  his papers included oaths of executing bankruptcy, accounts from firms in New York City, receipts for bankruptcy, and accounts of debt. It seemed to me that many New York City merchants used Tabor and Tripp to act as agents. It also included information such as Captain Thomas Wilson sending goods to Tabor and Tripp. It included notes paid by others to Captain Wilson and came from places like New York City, Hartford, New London, Providence, Newport, and the Washington Insurance Company. Bills due for James Rogers- twenty-six shillings and six pence due March 1799, Caleb Greene of Newport, Olcutt of Hartford , New York merchants Thomas Pearsall and sons, Isaac Caraw, William Bache, Thomas Chew; and New London merchants John Deshon, Jared Starr, and Lathan (probably Latham)  Hull were all included in the bankruptcy proceedings.

An affidavit by Peter Richards of New London swore that he saw General Jedidiah Huntington sign his name on a certificate purporting his consent that Job Taber and Stephen Tripp be discharged of his debts. It was signed in front of Mr. Jon Tripley, Commissioner on April 14, 1803. (It would be interesting to see if this date was before or after Congress appealed the act!)

A receipt from Mr. Michael Huntley to Taber and Trip in 1803 listed: July 15- 1 pair of stockings worth 0.75; July 29- 1 box worth 0.33, July 31- one blanket valued 2.33, February 7- 251 (?) cheese at 5 (?)  worth 17.42 for a 20.83. The value of this note was in dollars. Taber and Tripp also wrote a promissory note to Michael Huntley “for Twenty-four dollars and thirty-five cents with interest from November 24^th being the balance of wages on board Brig Minvera_New London, December 4, 1802.” It also included a notation of $24.35-20.83=$4.52 balance allowed.

 

 

Bankruptcy Records from New London, CT

In December my visit to  NARA was fruitful. Determining the best way to share what was found, it was decided to blog my results. Who knows...maybe it will help someone out there? My next series of blogs will focus on the documents found and list the names found from the documents. What are the documents you ask? Bankruptcy records  and shipping records of course!

RG 36 of NARA contain US Custom Records from New London. This included bonds for ships: 1790-1825, import bonds: 1790-1821, and original papers for ships. Anytime a ship pulled into the seaport there had to be documentation of proof of the ownership, captain, crew, and cargo. Looking at the cargo of the ship can tell you what was it carried and idea of how big the ship was. Sloop or brig, you can get a good idea of what the size of the boat was like. For example, Stephen Miner in 1799, master of the sloop Fanny arrived in New London with 2 hogshead of rum, navigated with four men. In 1792 James Powers of New Haven submitted papers that he was the co-owner and master of the brig Rebecca. Thomas Wait and Samuel Mather paid to Thomas Wait, master of the schooner Maria. (Most likely a son and friend purchasing the ship from the elder Wait or a change of ownership status.)

Some records included correspondence. I found several references to "Nathanil" Ingraham. The blotters are another part of this series to examine. Blotters from #106: 1794-1795 through #109: 1821 that were helpful to me. On June 19, 1795, my ancestor, James Peters, left New London on the sloop Hiram. He was cleared to sail and lists the cargo he carried. One other record that I didn't have time to examine was Ships Oaths. I have that on my future research list.

One last interesting item to look at was found in the bankruptcy records for Job Tabor. It was insurance on the sloop Betsy and Point Judith. Phineas Huntley, Thomas Rice, and John Arnold were mentioned, Edward Chappell featured predominately in the folder. A promissory note from James Noyes was listed as well as two females Elizabeth Proctor and Lucy Bolles. (Lucy was a relative of the Bolles captains who later sailed to the South Pacific in the 1850s.)

Next: Job Tabor's bankruptcy records

Alien files revisited

Last year I blogged about the Alien Case Files. (See my post in February, 2012) These files collected information on people who were aliens. The files are available through NARA for the years 1944-2003.  They can contain valuable genealogical information of the people who registered with the government.

While preparing for my genealogy class on Friday, I accessed the ARC database via www.archives.gov. (ARC aka Archival Research Catalog  is where the files were found.)  As of August 15th the ARC database will be permanently shutdown. NARA is asking that you access records via the Online Public Access search engine, now called OPA. To see if it was any easier to use, I searched for the Alien Case Files in the new search engine.

Reaching the OPA was much easier. You click on the first panel on the Archives.gov home page titled, "Research Our Records," and click, "Online catalog." It took me straight to the OPA page. There I was able to type in Alien Case Files in the query box. Like the former ARC search engine, it did take some time to load but not as long as ARC.

OPA displayed 503678 results with 280 online holdings. Just below the top three holdings were more links. The first link was to the same database that you had to hunt and peck to find in the old ARC catalog. The "search within this series" button is still halfway down the page but was larger to see and easier to use than the old ARC database. Typing in my search queries I found the results were displayed faster.

I didn't think I would find anyone in these files. I was surprised to see some of my grandparent's French Canadian relatives as well as my husband's German ancestors in these files. They are worth a look even if you don't think your family may not be included.

Happy researching!

Genealogy amongst friends

Last week I paid a visit with my two college friends. Unbeknownst to me my friend  was "doing" genealogy for nearly 30 years. Off on that path we went! He apologized to me at the end of our conversation for the length of his presentation and I laughed! No "deer in the headlight" look from me. I was impressed with his collection and his sourcing.

He was very careful about his sourcing. He uses primary sources whenever possible. In this day of quick information and poorly sourced documentation, his research was refreshing. He was extremely fortunate to have primary sources from his own family including memorabilia and photos from his family's store. Along with his wife, they spend time combing antique shops in pursuit of family advertisement cards from the store his gr-grandfather had. He had a wonderful collection of cards which enhanced his genealogy research.

Our conversation had me thinking-what could I find? Several of my recent finds have been from primary sources through online databases. Published Congressional records led me to obtain a copy of documentation from an admiralty case from the 1790s through NARA.  Of course there was the discovery of another gr-granduncle who sold reindeer to Alaskans. (Can you imagine how much fun I have with my third graders and that tidbit at Christmas?) Then there was the ophthalmology article I found through Google books that discusses how my gr-gr-granduncle was the first to advertise sunglasses, "white, blue, green, and grey glasses to suit all eyes." http://books.google.com/books?id=jh2gAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA539&dq=James+Peters+%2B+%2Bopthamalogy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fE75UfTxKe_A4APPpoGAAw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=James%20Peters%20%2B%20%2Bopthamalogy&f=false  A visit to an online antique store led me to a pair of sunglasses made by him! (Yes! I bought them!)

The importance of family history and passing it forward is a dilemma for all of us. Remembering who gave us the information, where it is found, and how we present it to others is always a challenge as we research. The one constant is sourcing. Remember to cite your sources...your descendants will love you for it. Thanks, Bob, for the reminder.

Revisiting Sources

Having time to rejuvenate and explore in genealogy is a blessing I have every summer. With hot temperatures cooking my tomatoes in the garden and my painting on hold until cooler weather prevails, I have been taking the opportunity to revisit my sources both in hard print and online. I am amazed at what is out there  and anxious for more data to be uploaded!

Trying to unknot my Caswell/Brown/Wilkinson lines, I revisited my binder on the Caswells. 20 years ago I was fortunate to have met my second cousin who had a copy of her grandmother's/my gr-grand aunt's Bible. Along with her sister, both cousins gave me information about our Caswell family. Rereading their letters got me thinking about how we couldn't get back before our Job Caswell and Sabrina Brown. After  reviewing our correspondence I had an, "Ah-duh!" moment. Breaking down the information I discovered that several generations of the family married Browns.
Job Caswell married Sabrina Brown...
Their sons, Joshua Bill Caswell and Joseph Caswell married Browns-Phoebe and Abby
Their grandson, Rueben Wilkinson married Isabel Brown 
Their granddaughter Harriet Caswell had children who married Browns.
All these Browns were reminding my about my tomatoes and other plants that I needed to water.

So, while watering the tomato plants and thinking about my notes, I realized that I had a huge clue from the two cousins from that Bible copy-Squire Richard Brown and Zeruiah Buttolph. These two people were related to one of these Browns; most likely my Abby. By now all these Browns were shriveling my brain so I decided to explore the Buttolphs to see what I could find. Two weeks later (and my tomatoes still surviving the scorching weather) I discovered if you play with the major websites like Heritage Quest, Family Search, and Ancestry, you can find some hidden gems in search engines like Google.

For example: Using the PERSI index on Heritage Quest I was able to find an article via Google Books. There was a  genealogy magazine simply called, "Genealogy." This weekly treasure, dating from 1910-1922, collected information from all over the US with emphasis on the three NEWs-New England, New York, and New Jersey. Don't dismiss it. There were family articles from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other locations. What was fascinating was discovering  my gr-granduncle's headstone information in the 1915 issue-11 years after his death! Can you imagine uncovering a little tidbit of information that could help you? Although  a complete run is  not available on Google, it gave me enough information to request a copy of a few pages from Allen Public Library. (I found it by typing "genealogy vol. 5 + New York" in Google books.) http://books.google.com/books?id=ccAWAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA92&dq=genealogy+vol.+5+%2B+New+York&hl=en&sa=X&ei=G9DmUfXeLsXd4AO2m4GoCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=genealogy%20vol.%205%20%2B%20New%20York&f=false

Using Heritage Quest again, I put "Squire Richard Brown" in the "people" section of Books. Lo and behold, I discovered in the Cleveland genealogy four little footnotes. Two were about the Buttolphs and Browns. This information gave me enough to go back and look on Ancestry, Family Search as well as Find a Grave. Between the three sites and NEHGS, I was able to uncover an article from The American Genealogist, a Revolutionary War ancestor, more clues on the Brown families, and a mistake in the NSDAR lineage book.

Revisit your sources. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.
Time to pick tomatoes!

Loving this conference...don't know who is more impressive? Introducing Dick Eastman or sitting in the front row with Steve Morse!

Connie Reik's talk on the War of 1812 was dynamic! Lots of great links to find your 1812 soldier. I also enjoyed Jolene Mullin's talk on colonial records in CT (her two volume book is massive!) and Jean Nudd's presentation on records found in NARA. (I am a NARA groupie!)

NERGC Manchester

I love the NERGC! Today was Librarians' and Teachers' Day. Although the day focused upon librarians, the teachers also benefitted. I walked away with many project ideas for my class as well as ways to get the history of a location into the hands of students. The best idea was the biography report that encouraged students to research on their own and was based upon the Core Curriculum Standards.

Ironically the same advice Judy Russell gave last week on the Legacy Family Tree webinar was repeated today...going in and telling a librarian your entire genealogical background will get you the glazed deer in the headlight look. But focusing your  question to a specific topic or record group will get you the collection you need or the answers you seek.

And the speakers were knowledgeable and shared great tips. I didn't know about genealogy branches.com and look forward to exploring this site. I've read Lisa Alzo's  articles and enjoyed hearing her as a speaker. Michael Hall's presentation on the War of 1812 pension records was great as well as William Forsyth's Proquest presentation. Christine  Sharbrough was a riot and a genealogist's friend. Josh Taylor was great as usual and having lunch with Marianne Marcussen was delightful.

I am looking forward LTD in Providence in 2015.

Organizing Your Files

Have you backed up your files lately?
Attached to my laptop is a hard drive of files. I try to do a back up once a month...usually on my monthly birthday date. Fortunately I had a backup when my mother board died last year and only lost a few items.
Some people back up to the cloud. (I do have some of my favorite family photos there as well.) Some people do both. If you haven't backed up your files please do it and save yourself grief.
But what do you do when you have multiples of the same files? Or begin to organize it? My solution is KISS...keep it simply simple.
For example, I started with a file that says, "Our family." In it I have a folder for my daughter, one for my in laws, one for my family, and one for our home. Then I sort my pictures and files to the person that is associated with it. When my grandparent's family had material-such as a newspaper article found on the web or a photo a distant cousin gives you, I simple place it into which side of the family it belongs. My husband's Fehlauer family is placed with his family; each one of my siblings have their own folder. School and genealogy items have their own separate folder.
I will admit that I didn't always do this. But since I have been doing this it has been simply simple to find my photos and genealogy files a breeze.
Now I'm off to rename my photos-year, month, date, place and subject!