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!

Cool stuff in Genealogy World

I just wanted to post a quick blog about three great places I have visited online in the last few weeks.

1. Maryland Archives...OMG! I hope more states follow their lead. Their online indexes are great!
2. Legacy Family Tree Webinars...I just saw the webinar on Youtube your Genealogy...Great ideas!
3. Family Search...the amount of information upload is fabulous.

Stay warm my New England friends!

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.