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!

Looking at the friends of the family

One of the best way to hurdle the brick walls in my research is to look at the family and friends of my ancestors. By looking at other family members you can find clues that may lead you on a path to where you want to go. Examining the neighbors, friends, and associates of a ancestor can also point the way as well as finding new areas of research. Here is an example of what I did with a will.

When Captain James Peters wrote his will in August of 1802, he was suffering from yellow fever. A huge epidemic swept through New York at that time and sadly, at the age 41 he was a victim of the disease. When his will was probated not once, not twice but four times, the original and copies of it were made. These copies had to be accurate because it was a legal document. The fact that he was a sea captain and was wealthy according to the standards at that time made his will an important business document.

According to his will his executors were William Seaton of New York City and John Woodward and Job Tabor of New London. William Seaton died in Italy shortly after leaving New York for a better climate. (Yes, he was  Mother Elizabeth Seaton's husband!) Job Tabor was forced into bankruptcy in 1804 and by 1806 had died. The surviving executor, John Woodward, advertised in both New London and New York City newspapers that he was the surviving executor of James Peters. He also died before the probate could be completed because by 1809 Guy Richards of New London had petition in New York City courts that he was guardian of Captain Peters' son, James, and asked to be named the executor of Captain Peters' will.

On my "to do" list, I still need to examine William Seaton's and John Woodward's wills. I did look at the bankruptcy records for Job Tabor (located in NARA in Waltham). On a hunch I decided to also look at Guy Richards' will and lo' and behold there was James Peters Junior listed. This lead me to other records in other locations including tracking down James Peters Junior's will in Philadelphia and discovering more records for me to examine.

Alien Files at NARA

This past fall, I was forutnate to have a student teacher in my classroom. An extremely thoughtful and insightful person, when it came time for him to leave, he handed me a slip of paper for my end of the semester gift. I was thrilled to read what was on the paper...we were going to attend a NYG and B workshop at  the NYC branch of  NARA.

These short seminars are fun. You get a chance to meet like-minded people, hear some new ideas, and sometimes recieve a" behind the scenes" tour of the facilities. Always a genealogist's dream.

Our day was wonderful. We arrived on the site where I showed him how to look for his relatives. We quickly assembled an outline of his family that he was happy to have. We also met up with a fellow genealogist from OCGS and helped her find some information on her Irish ancestor. But the best, BEST thing of all, was learning about the Alien files.

These files were created in 1944 to follow an alien through  the immigration and inspection process. A gold mine of information, they can include photos, birth information, personal papers and other genealogy goodies.Originally from INS, these files were transferred to the National Archives and are now being indexed. Currently there is about 350,000 files of people born prior to 1909 online through the NARA site.

I came home and found not only some of my mother's family listed on it (they were French Canadian) but my husband's German grandaunt and cousins. With the information, I can order the file online and have it scanned and sent to me. All of it while sitting in my superman pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers.

Take a look at the database. You may find something. And if not, check back because they are updating it daily. http://archives.gov/research/genealogy.aliens/a-files-kansas-city.html
Note: You may access it through the ARC catalog at NARA www.archives.gov