Online Resources - Internet Genealogy

Transcription

your guide to online research
New York
Telephone
Directories
REVIEW:
~ Flickr for Genealogy
~ GEDitCOM II
BURNED &
LOST RECORDS
What Can You Do?
War of 1812 Online:
More Records
Than Ever!
$6.95
Feb/Mar 2016
Hobbies: Genealogy
Swedish Household
Examination Books
Westward
Migration
Online Resources
New Look for Internet Genealogy
Since our launch back in April 2006, our distinctive logo has been
displayed proudly on our cover and throughout the magazine. But
now that we’ve completed our tenth year, we felt it was time to
refresh the logo with something new and eye-catching. Thanks to
the team at J-Mac Images for their excellent work on coming up
with a great new design!
February/March 2016
Volume 10, Number 6
PUBLISHER
& EDITOR
Ed Zapletal
[email protected]
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Rick Cree
[email protected]
EDITORIAL SUPPORT
Lianna LaLiberte
PRODUCTION
& DESIGN
J-Mac Images
Marianne Reitsma/
John MacLeod
ADVERTISING SERVICES
Jeannette Cox
[email protected]
In This Issue...
Carol Richey, a regular contributor to Internet Genealogy,
takes us on a journey of discovery revealing many online
resources for tracking our
ancestors as they made their
way westward in search of a
better life. Author and podcaster
George G. Morgan looks at
Swedish Household Examination Book records he discovered
at MyHeritage.com, along with
excellent tips on how to read
the record headers, SwedishEnglish translation, online tools,
websites and more. David Norris looks at the history of State House
fires and the impact on genealogy research over the years. He
offers a partial list of State House fires, and hints for work-arounds
when you are up against that brick wall brought on by lost records.
Tony Bandy, our regular tech reviewer has three reviews on offer.
Does your research take you to the New York City area? Tony
reveals the treasure contained in online historical Brooklyn, New
York telephone and city directories; followed by a look at Internet
imaging service, Flickr, and how it can add context to your family
history; and finally, a review of the latest version of GEDitCOM II
for Mac users. Diane L. Richard suggests that records relating
to the War of 1812 are becoming more accessible and offers an
excellent look at what is available for US and Canadian genealogical researchers. To round out our line-up, regular contributor
and resident of Dubuque, Iowa, Constance R. Cherba goes to
work to reveal the lives of three WWI soldiers using a variety of
online techniques.
Ed Zapletal
OFFICE MANAGER
Jennifer Cree
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www.internet-genealogy.com ~ February/March 2016 ~ Internet GENEALOGY
3
tabl e of contents
Contents
State House Fires and Your
Genealogy Research
7
David A. Norris looks at State record losses
over the years, and what it means for your
family history research
Swedish Household
Examination Books
13
George G. Morgan looks at a valuable resource
and offers tips for interpreting record headings
Moving West!
Carol Richey looks at the resources available for
tracking your ancestors’ migration westward
Do You Have That Number?
Tony Bandy explores online historical
Brooklyn, New York phone and
city directories.
War of 1812
Online Resources
18
page 7
24
31
page 18
Diane L. Richard looks at the growing number
of resources online and available for US and
Canadian researchers
Our Cover: Old carts in a ghost town near Cody,
Wyoming. (Author: SNEHIT, Fotolia.com)
4
Internet GENEALOGY ~ February/March 2016 ~ www.internet-genealogy.com
page 31
February/March 2016
GEDitCOM II
Tony Bandy looks at the latest version of this
popular program for Mac users
Flickr, Culture and
Your Genealogy
38
42
Tony Bandy shows how you can go beyond
just facts and dates
NetNotes
Internet Genealogy looks at websites and
related news that are sure to be of interest
Three Soldiers:
Not Just Names on a Plaque
45
page 38
47
Constance R. Cherba illuminates the short lives
of three young soldiers of the Great War using a
variety of online resources
Subscriber Information
11
Genealogical Society
Announcements
52
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5
record l oss es
State House Fires and your Genealogy Research
David A. Norris looks at State record losses over the
years, and what it means for your family history research
G
ENEALOGISTS ARE WELL AWARE OF THE GAPS IN GOVERNMENT
records caused by the hundreds of fires, explosions, floods,
and other catastrophes that have struck US courthouses
since the colonial days. Family historians know these places
as “burned counties”. Over twenty states have suffered similar statewide disasters: the damage or loss of a state capitol by fire.
Fire ravaged New York’s capitol building at Albany in 1911. Lost was most of the state
library and numerous files and bound volumes of records, some of them dating to the days
of Dutch Colonial rule.
There is some good news, from a family historian’s point of view. A
fire in the capitol building of one of your ancestor’s states might have
little effect on your genealogical work. Often, the fires were contained
before major damage was done, or the most important records were
saved from burning. Census records, as well as most military service
and pension files, were kept in Washington, DC. Most “building blocks”
of family history, such as deeds, wills and probate files, and birth,
marriage, and death records, would reside in county courthouses or
other local sites.
Many state records dealt with
financial and administrative matters that had little bearing on
family histories. Some important
records, such as higher court
decisions and legislative proceedings, were at least partially
published as books or reported in
some detail in newspapers. At the
state level, the most serious losses
to genealogists might be the destruction of original land grants
by the state or colonial governments, and state military and
militia records that were not part
of the War Department’s files in
Washington.
Realizing that the state capitol
in Raleigh was vulnerable because
of a wooden roof, North Carolina
officials hired a contractor to fireproof the building by covering the
roof with zinc. On 21 June 1831,
workmen on the project took a
meal break. On the roof, they left
behind iron fire pots, which the
workers used to heat solder to
seal the zinc sheets together. The
untended pots set the roof on fire,
and the flames swept through the
building. Losses included state
documents as well as most of the
state library. Despite the fire,
an extensive array of North
Carolina’s colonial and early Federal documents still survive.
The Civil War took a heavy toll
on state records in the South.
Some captured capitol buildings
were ransacked and looted by
7
record loss es
A Partial List of US State Capitol Fires
(Some of these fires were put out before significant damage was inflicted on
the building or its paper records.)
Alabama (Montgomery) . . . . .December 14, 1849
Illinois (Vandalia) . . . . . . . . . . . .December 9, 1823
(Springfield) . . . . . . . . .July 9, 1933; July 3, 1935
Iowa (Des Moines) . . . . . . . . .January 4, 1904
Louisiana (Baton Rouge) . . . . .December 28, 1862
Massachusetts (Boston) . . . . .December 9, 1747
Michigan (Lansing) . . . . . . . . .State Office Building, February 9, 1951
Minnesota (Saint Paul) . . . . . .March 2, 1881
Missouri (Jefferson City) . . . . .November 15, 1837
January 1, 1903; February 5, 1911
New Jersey (Trenton) . . . . . . .March 21, 1885
New York (Albany) . . . . . . . . .March 29, 1911
North Carolina (Raleigh) . . . . .June 21, 1831
North Dakota (Bismarck) . . . .December 28, 1930
Oregon (Salem) . . . . . . . . . . . .April 25, 1935
Pennsylvania (Harrisburg) . . . .February 2, 1897
South Carolina (Charleston) . .February 5, 1788
(Columbia) . . .February 17, 1865
Texas (Austin) . . . . . . . . . . . . .November 9, 1881
Vermont (Montpelier) . . . . . . .January 6, 1857
Virginia (Jamestown) . . . . . . .three 17th century capitol fires,
the last in 1698
(Williamsburg) . . . . . . .January 30, 1747
Washington (Olympia) . . . . . .September 8, 1928
West Virginia (Charleston) . . .January 3, 1921
Wisconsin (Madison) . . . . . . . .February 26-27, 1904
Union troops. Fires swept
through Columbia, South Carolina on 17 February 1865, as
Confederate forces evacuated the
city and Lt. Gen. William T.
Sherman’s Union troops moved
in. The state’s 1790 capitol, designed by James Hoban (also the
architect of the White House in
Washington, DC) was burned,
with the destruction of the state
library and many state records.
Louisiana’s capitol at Baton
Rouge was also burned during the
war. Union soldiers stationed in
the capitol were cooking when
their fire got out of control and
8
gutted the building on 28 December 1862. The Confederate state
government had evacuated the
city before it fell to Union forces,
but some of the state’s records
that could not be removed were
lost in the fire.
Early in 1881, a minor fire
broke out in the basement of the
Wisconsin capitol in Madison.
Residing in the capitol was “Old
Abe”, an eagle that was the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry
during the Civil War. After the
war, the beloved eagle’s home was
an aviary in the capitol basement.
Old Abe escaped the flames,
which did little damage to the
building. But, weakened by smoke
inhalation, he died one month
later. A taxidermist stuffed Old
Abe, and he was put on display as
a Civil War relic at the capitol.
Another fire, which seemed to
have been ignited by a gas jet in
a “toilet room”, broke out on 27
February 1904 and destroyed the
capitol building. Most state
records were saved, but the fire
destroyed the capitol’s Grand
Army of the Republic room. Old
Abe’s remains, as well as the paper
records of the GAR Department
of Wisconsin, were destroyed.
Minnesota’s capitol caught fire
on 2 March 1881, while both
houses of the legislature were in
session. Over 300 delegates and
other officials escaped, despite
the fire spreading to the main
stairway. Most state records were
protected in vaults, or were saved
by clerks. A reporter watched
clerks toss the state’s supreme
court records out of the capitol’s
windows, to land on the snowcovered ground.
Some capitol fires resulted in
little or no damage to records. For
example, after the 1849 fire at the
Alabama capitol in Montgomery,
newspapers reported that the state
senate and house clerks saved
their papers, and the archives of
the state’s governor’s office, treasurer, comptroller, and secretary of
state were saved. Minor fires in
other places might have been put
out so quickly that minimal damage occurred, and little notice was
made of them in newspapers or
other accounts. It can also be
difficult to determine the extent
of record losses in makeshift or
temporary capitol buildings.
Fires also occurred in territorial
capitols. To replace the historic,
but antiquated 17th century
“Palace of the Governors” in
Santa Fe, the territory of New
Mexico built a new capitol building in 1886. This new building
burned on 12 May 1892. Nearly
all of the records were saved, including recent territorial papers
and older archives dating to the
years of Spanish and Mexican
rule. Officials handed the rescued
documents and volumes to a party
of soldiers from Fort Marcy, who
loaded the papers in wagons and
took them to safety.
In Sitka, an old governor’s mansion and administrative center
once served as the capitol of the
Russian colony of Alaska. Built in
1836, the building was known as
Baranof Castle. After Secretary
of State William Seward negotiated the sale of Alaska in 1867,
Baranof Castle housed US
Army officers and government
officials until it burned on 17
March 1894.
The destruction of Washington,
DC’s US government buildings
by the British during the War
of 1812 destroyed a great many
early Federal records. Less well
known is a later fire caused by a
Fire also occurred in territorial capitols before states were admitted to the Union. The
Russian-built structure known as Baranof Castle served as the center of the Russian government of Alaska before that territory was sold to the US in 1867. US officials and army
officers used Baranof Castle as a headquarters before it burned down in 1894.
gas explosion in the US Capitol
on 6 November 1898. The fire
was contained and damage was
limited mainly to spaces then used
by the Supreme Court. Fire or
water damaged or destroyed some
original case files going back to
the late 1700s. However, all of
these legal decisions had been
published, so the information in
the papers was not lost.
Other capitol fires resulted in
more serious record losses. New
York’s capitol building at Albany
burned on 26 March 1911. The
Albany fire was a major setback
for US genealogists. Half a
million books, including most of
the New York State Library’s
volumes, were lost, as were
300,000 manuscripts including
colonial and Revolutionary Warera documents. Because the stone
building was touted as “fireproof ”,
no provision was made for fire
protection. The shocking losses of
irreplaceable papers helped prod
lawmakers around the country to
The capitol building in Charleston, West Virginia smolders after a devastating 1921 fire. Many state records were destroyed. Some
records survived in fireproof vaults and safes, and some other lost data such as birth, marriage, and death records were retrieved from
county governments. RIGHT: This photo shows the inside of the West Virginia capitol after a 1921 fire. Parallel or duplicate sources can enable
genealogists to “work around” such catastrophic record losses, but some information is lost forever.
LEFT:
9
record loss es
provide safer accommodations for
their archival records.
An 1837 fire broke out in the
Secretary of State’s office in the
Missouri capitol building in
Jefferson City. Papers for that
department were reportedly destroyed, but according to newspaper accounts most other records
were saved. Missouri’s new capitol, a frame building, burned
down after a lightning strike on
5 February 1911. On that occasion, newspapers reported that
the original land grant papers held
by the Secretary of State were
saved by department officials and
volunteers. Inmates at the nearby
State Penitentiary volunteered to
fight the blaze, and many townspeople helped to save what
records they could from the burning building.
West Virginia’s capitol was destroyed in a 3 January 1921 fire.
The date was exactly one week
before the fire at the US Commerce Department Building in
Washington, DC, in which the
1890 Census rolls were lost.
Before the West Virginia fire,
state officials were nervous about
the prospect of violent labor
disputes at coal mines, and they
had stockpiled ammunition in the
capitol building. Firefighters were
forced back when the flames
reached the munitions storage
area and set off the cartridges.
Record losses were heavy, but
some records were saved by clerks
and firefighters, and others were
preserved in fireproof vaults and
safes. When the fire ate through
the planking of the third floor,
one safe plunged sixty feet down
into the basement. Upon the reopening of the safe, the bound
volumes inside were found intact.
A hastily-built temporary government center burned in 1927, while
the current capitol building was
10
still under construction.
As of 1 January 1917, West
Virginia began the statewide collection of birth, marriage, and
death (BMD) records. Such
records destroyed in the 1921 fire
were replaced from county
sources. Today, the West Virginia
Division of Culture and History
State Archives offers an online
database of BMD records at
www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.
aspx.
North Dakota’s capitol building
burned down on 28 December
1930. After the fire, Secretary
of State Gladys Pyle of South
Dakota offered her state’s help in
replacing lost documents. When
the old Dakota Territory split into
two in 1889, most of the original
territorial papers went to North
Dakota. Copies made for South
Dakota, stored in their state capital of Pierre, were available to
replenish North Dakota’s archives.
Virginia’s four centuries of
genealogical records have been
particularly hard-hit by wars and
accidental fires. Three statehouses
at colonial Jamestown were destroyed by fire. After the third fire
in 1698, the new statehouse
was built in the new capital of
Williamsburg.
This new capitol at Williamsburg also burned down, in 1747.
The fire was deemed suspicious in
origin, as it broke out in a room
with no fireplace or chimney,
and it was blamed on “desperate
Villains, instigated by infernal
Madness”. After the blaze, only
the walls were left standing, but it
seems the most important records
were saved. According to the governor, “the Consolation we enjoy,
in having the authentic Registers,
of every Man’s Property, with all
Papers of any Consequence, preserved…” was due to the clerks
who saved the documents from
the burning building.
The current Virginia capitol
building in Richmond (finished in
1788, and designed by Thomas
Jefferson) escaped the fires that
consumed much of the Confeder-
In 1865, Virginia’s capitol was spared from the fires set during the chaotic evacuation of the
city and its occupation by Union forces. The State Court House, however, was burned along
with court records going back into the 1600s. (Library of Congress)
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ate capital city at the end of the Civil War in
1865. However, the State Courthouse was destroyed by fire on 3 April 1865. Lost were state
and colonial court records going back as far as
1619. Adding to the losses, many Virginia counties sent their records to Richmond for safekeeping during the war, and these documents were also
destroyed at this time.
There are work-arounds for “burned states” as
well as “burned counties”. Most records sought by
genealogists were kept at a local level, and were
not affected by a state capitol fire. Antiquarians
were hard at work during the 19th century,
transcribing or abstracting information from old
documents that would interest historians and
genealogists. Notably, information contained in
thousands of documents that went up in the 1911
fire at the New York State Capitol had been
published. A bit of searching at Google Books
and the Internet Archive may turn up books
that reprint muster rolls, land records, or other
papers that were destroyed or lost after their
publication.
For most of these capitol fires, the exact extent
of losses of early genealogical records is not clear.
But, these long-ago fires may explain the reason
why an ancestor’s land grant papers are missing,
or why a relative has no record of service in the
Revolution or some other long-ago conflict.
more information
See: GenDisasters.com at www3.gendisasters.com for
more information on some of these capitol fires as well as
other catastrophes that destroyed genealogical records.
Contemporary newspapers, available at sources such as
Genealogybank.com and NewspaperArchive.com, may
shed further light on record losses in your ancestors’
states. For tips on how genealogists can work around
the destruction of original records, see FamilySearch’s
“Burned Counties” page at http://familysearch.org/
learn/wiki/en/Burned_Counties_Research.
DAVID A. NORRIS is a regular contributor to
Internet Genealogy, Your Genealogy Today and
History Magazine. See the ad on page 45 for
David’s most recent special issue, Tracing Your
Revolutionary War Ancestors.
11
swedi s h records
Swedish Household Examination Books
George G. Morgan looks at a valuable resource
and offers tips for interpreting record headings
T
WO OF THE BEST RECORD TYPES FOR LOCATING ANCESTORS
are census records and religious institutions’ records, such as
membership rolls and parish registers. They place people in
specific locations at particular points in time. Swedish Household Examination Books serve this purpose for genealogical
research. MyHeritage.com (www.myheritage.com), with the assistance
of ArkivDigital, has recently made more than 46 million indexed,
digital images available at its website. This article will discuss the background of these records, their contents, and will offer suggestions for
how to translate Swedish words to English.
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in that country and the largest Lutheran denomination in the world. It consists
of thirteen dioceses, divided into parishes. The majority percent of
Swedish citizens are members of this church.
Background
Civil registration did not begin in Sweden until 1991. From the late
1600s to that time, the Swedish Church kept the official records of the
Swedish population.
The earliest parish registers were organized into groups of pages that
recorded life events: births or christenings; marriages; and deaths or
burials. There was no standard format for the Swedish Church to record
information about parishioners in early times.
In 1851, the parish priests were instructed to prepare an extract of
the parish register each year that listed the names of people leaving
Sweden or arriving in Sweden from other countries. The list was to be
sent to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, or SCB, (Statisktiska
Centralbyrån). Full compliance did not occur until 1865. In 1860,
the government required the church ministers to prepare a list of birth,
LEFT:
Vreta Klosterkyrka (Vreta
Monastery Church) in
Linköping in
Östergötland.
Photo by Håkan
Svensson (Xauxa) /
CC BY-SA.
marriage, and death information
each year and send it to the SCB.
It was not until 1858 that
a Church committee recommended the standardization of
parish records, suggesting the
use of a five-year or 10-year
husförhörslängd.
The
husförhörslängd is a record of parishioners’ religious knowledge, specifically of the Swedish Church’s
catechism. Religious instruction
was an important part of the
church’s mission and the clergy
maintained records of each
Detail of left-hand page of Swedish Household Examination Record for the Johannson residence. (Source: MyHeritage.com)
Detail of right-hand page of Swedish Household Examination Record for the Johannson residence. (Source: MyHeritage.com)
RIGHT:
13
sw edi sh records
Top portion of record for Carl Frederik Johannes Johannson. (Source: MyHeritage.com) RIGHT: Bottom portion of record for Carl Frederik
Johannes Johannson showing all members of the household, relationship to head, and dates of birth. (Source: MyHeritage.com)
LEFT:
member’s knowledge.
The minister was responsible
for visiting each home or institution every year and testing the
occupants’ knowledge of the
catechism. He recorded information in the book each year over
the five- or 10-year period in
which that volume was in use.
Therefore, it is also possible that
a person listed as a member of a
household may also have a death
date listed.
In 1894, the husförhörslängd
was replaced by the Församlingsbok, a more modern register. It was
used to officially enumerate the
population from year-to-year. The
emphasis on documenting religious
knowledge was removed with the
records becoming more focused on
enumerating and documenting the
Swedish population.
The Swedish Household
Examination Books Online
The Swedish Household Examination Books at MyHeritage.com
primarily cover the time period
from 1880 through 1920. (A few
record pages from the late 1700s
and early 1800s have been identified.)
Start at the main page at
MyHeritage.com and, under the
Research tab, select Census &
Voter Lists. When that search
14
page is displayed, look at the
right-hand column and select
Nordic Census and, on the next
page, select Swedish Household
Examination Books, 1880-1920.
You can then use the search template to enter first and middle
names and/or last name. This is
usually the best place to start, and
then review the search results to
understand what was returned,
and then refine your search as
needed. You can enter the year of
birth (or calculate it) and/or place
of birth, if you know them; you
can also enter residence information, such as year and/or place.
These can help narrow your
search. You can also add keywords
to help refine your search.
displayed consists of multiple
areas of interest and can be
printed using the printer icon at
the bottom of the screen.
❍
The top section contains details
from the indexed record, including date and place of birth,
place of residence and years
covered by this book’s pages;
relationship to head of household; father and mother;
siblings; and information about
the book from which the image
was taken. (See image.) A
notation to the left of each
name other than the head of
household was used to indicate
the relationship.
❍
The middle section is a window
in which you can view the
image. It allows you to zoom
in or out for more detail, or you
can click on the orange button
to view the image in full-screen
mode. You can then print or
download the image as a JPG
to your computer.
❍
The bottom section lists each
person in the household by
name and relationship to the
head of household and their
birthdate. This information is
taken from the index that was
created for the record. You can
click on any name to pull up a
record for that individual.
The Search Results
I entered a search for Carl
Frederik Johannes Johansson and
was rewarded with a large number
of search results. I then refined
my search to include a year of
birth (1891) and the place of
residence (Goteborg). (You don’t
need to use the special letters of
the Swedish alphabet to enter
data; MyHeritage.com searches
for matches.)
I found an individual whose information seemed to match the
man I was seeking, and I clicked
on his name. The screen that was
The table below lists the column numbers, the Swedish headings,
and an approximate English translation of those headings.
COLUMNS HEADING (SWEDISH)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1
Torp, lägethet, verk och inrättningar m. m.
under ofvanstående fastighet. Personens
för och tillnamn samt familjeställning, äfvensom
personens titel, om annan än den i kol. 2 angifna.
House/cottage, apartment, agencies and institutions,
etc. The name of each person and family status,
and likewise the person’s condition as
listed in the column 2.
2
Yrke (tjenst, näringsf ng).
Stam (främmande).
Lyte (fallandesot, sinnessjukdom, idiotic,
blindhet, döfstumhet).
Occupation (service, commerce).
Ethnicity/national origin (foreign).
Disability (epilepsy, insanity, idiotic,
blindness, deaf-mute).
Född
år. dag och mån.
Birth
year, day and month.
5
Födelseort (församling i län eller i stad).
Place of birth (parish or in the city).
6
Vaccinerats el. Haft kopper.
Vaccinated or has had pox.
7
Gift
år, dag och månad.
Married
year, day and month.
8
Enkling, enka eller frånskild år, dag och månad.
Widower, widow, or divorced year, day and month.
Inflyttad eller öfverförd. Från fö. i län eller i
stad, eller sida i församlingsbok eller boken
öfver obefintl. År, dag och månad.
Moved or transferred. From which congregation
in a county or city or if non-member of
a congregation. Year, day and month.
11
Kristendomskunskap.
Knowledge of Christianity.
12
Inom sv. Kyrkan begätt H. Nattv.
Member of the Church of Sweden and received
Holy Communion.
13
Bevistat husförhör år.
Attended Catechism class annually.
14
Anteckningar om frejd; nattvardshinder;
äktenskapshinder; utfärdad lysning;
hinderslöshetsbetyg; skiljobref; barns legalisering;
utträde ur svenska kyrkan; främmande
trosbekännelse; främmande natãtionalitet; den
församling i Sverige, som moder vid nedkomst
utom riket tillhörde; m. m.
Notes on reputation [situation]; Communion
obstacles; impediments to marriage; issued
marriage permission; rating of industriousness;
distinguished character; legitimacy of child;
withdrawal from the Swedish Church; alien creed;
foreign national; born of a mother not a member
of Swedish Church; etc..
15
Värnpligtsförhällanden.
Performed compulsory military service. [Years listed]
Utflyttad eller öfverförd. Till föors. i län
eller i stad, eller sida i församlingbok eller
boken öfver obefintl. År, dag och månad.
Added in the parish or city parochial register or
non-member added to parish record page.
Year, day and month.
3-4
9-10
16-17
18
Död År, dag och månad.
What Is in the Record?
Remember that the format of the
books varied over time, effective
with the change in 1894 and before that date. You can tell what
format to expect by looking at the
top section of the individual’s
record discussed above. It will
provide the years for which the
book was used. The earlier books
included multiple columns on the
right-hand page to record the
annual examination of religious
knowledge. However, for purposes
of illustrating this article, I used
the book with Carl Frederik
Johannes Johansson that covers
1898 through 1909. This was the
newer Församlingsbok format.
You can also determine the area
covered and the years for the book
by navigating back to the beginning of each list of pages. The
geographical area, the volume
number, and years will be listed at
the front of the book. This, along
with the URL and the image
15
sw edi sh records
number found in the top section,
can be used for your source citation.
The format of this book included eighteen columns that
span two pages facing one another. Each page has line numbers
so that it is easy to follow information for an individual from the
left-hand page to the right-hand
one. The examples shown are for
the Johansson family.
become apparent as you work
with the records, and you will
begin forming a vocabulary. Here
are a few very common Swedish
words that you will encounter.
stad år dag mån namn familj familjeställning -
Working with the Contents
It is important to understand the
records themselves.
The information entered in
each column may be apparent and
easily understood. Often, however, you will not be familiar with
Swedish. In other cases, the
Swedish language has changed
and some words may be obsolete
or have been replaced with others.
Reading the handwriting may be
challenging as well. Remember
that indexers may also have had
problems with reading and interpreting the written data. This is
evidenced in the example shown
with the name of the fourth person in the family. The indexer
listed the son’s name as Forsten
Gustaf Albert when, in fact, it was
Torsten Gustaf Albert. This is an
example of why you should try
multiple spellings/misspellings of
your ancestor’s name.
You will need to translate some
words or phrases from Swedish to
English. The first thing to remember is that Swedish is not
structured like English. It is like
other languages in which words
change spelling according to
usage, such as singular or plural,
and multiple words may be combined to create compound words.
Many words have multiple meanings and you will want to examine
them in the context of how they
are used. Some of these will
16
personen bok församlings församlingsbok -
city
year
day
month
name
family
family standing
or position in
family
person or
individual
book
parish, county,
or community
parish book or
parish register
There are two translation engines on the Web that can be useful to you. An excellent one
specifically for Swedish-toEnglish translation is Tyda.se at
http://tyda.se. Another is Google
Translate at https://translate.
google.com. It allows you translate
back and forth between languages.
Both of these translators are
great for translating individual
words and are good with many
phrases, but they can be less than
perfect for translating compound
words. You may need to break
them apart and try to translate
components, and then put the
meanings back together. Notice
the compound words in the list
above and their meanings:
familjeställning consists of two
words: familj and eställning
församlingsbok consists of two
words: församlings and bok
It may be necessary to use trial
and error to try to translate unfamiliar words.
Another excellent resource
is the FamilySearch Wiki at
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/
en/Main_Page. Enter the word
Sweden in the Wiki search box
and one of the results is the
Swedish Genealogical Word List.
This wiki entry includes a list of
hundreds of Swedish words, some
characteristics of the language,
details about alphabetization
(including non-English characters), and a number of keywords
that you will frequently use in
your research.
You might consider investing in
a larger Swedish-English dictionary if you are doing extensive
Swedish research. It may contain
obscure and archaic words, translations, and definitions that you
might encounter in a variety of
both personal and official documents.
Summing Up
The Swedish Household Records
are an invaluable resource for
researching Swedish ancestors.
They can be the equivalent of
census records for researching
during this time period. MyHeritage.com and ArkivDigital have
made this tremendous collection
available online for the first time.
They provide clues to place and
date of birth, marriage records
that may be found in specific
parishes, date of death, occupation, military service, and potentially more information. The
collection is a great addition to a
Swedish researcher’s toolkit.
GEORGE G. MORGAN is an internationally recognized genealogy
expert who presents across the
US and abroad, and who delivers
training for genealogical societies
and libraries. He is the prolific
author of 12 books and hundreds
of magazine and online articles.
He is also one of the instructors
for Ancestry Academy.
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Moving West
Carol Richey looks at the resources available
for tracking your ancestors’ migration westward
“
T
HE AMERICAN HAS ALWAYS SOMETHING BETTER IN HIS EYE,
further west,” observed a British traveler visiting America
in the early 1800s. “He therefore lives and dies on hope, a
mere gypsy in this particular.”
The Sylvester Rawding family in front of sod house, north of Sargent, Custer County,
Nebraska. (Library of Congress)
From the start of its settlement when English colonists first established the Jamestown colony more than 400 years ago, America’s history
has been one of a highly mobile, hopeful people. As more land became
available for settlement, their hopes for a better life led them west, and
often, further west again. When searching for your ancestors, you need
to keep in mind this mobility and the historical causes for it.
Historical Background
In 1800, two-thirds of Americans resided within 50 miles of the
Atlantic coast, and less than 10 percent lived west of the Appalachian
Mountains. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States
gained the vast area of land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky
Mountains, nearly doubling the nation’s territory overnight. By the
start of the Civil War in 1861, approximately half of the 31 million
Americans were living west of the Appalachian Mountains.
18
By 1900, the total area of the
continental United States was
nearly four times its size in 1790,
the population had increased to
76.2 million, and approximately
60 percent of Americans were
living in the West.
Several significant events, one
after the other, contributed to the
settling of the West: Mountain
men, trappers and fur traders
explored the western mountains
in the early nineteenth century,
the Louisiana Purchase of 1803
and subsequent Lewis and Clark
Expedition to the uncharted
West; in 1846, the US declared
war with Mexico and the Great
Mormon Migration began; James
Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold
in California; Abraham Lincoln
signed the Homestead Act and
the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862,
and the last transcontinental rail
spike was driven at Promontory
Summit, Utah in 1869.
According to Ray Allen Billington
and Martin Ridge in Westward
Expansion: A History of the American Frontier (University of New
Mexico Press, 2001, 6th ed.),
three contributing factors led people to move westward: conditions
at home, ease of travel, and the
attractiveness of the region. Most
migrations result from a combination of pushes and pulls. Ask
yourself, what may have caused
my ancestor to leave home? Why
did my ancestor want to move
west?
The nineteenth century was a
time of great internal migration,
and the highest mobility occurred
during the first half of the century.
According to scholars Patricia
Kelly Hall and Steven Ruggles in
“‘Restless in the Midst of Their
Prosperity’: New Evidence on the
Internal Migration of Americans,
1850-2000”, nearly half of Americans moved across state lines, and
most moved long distances. Most
mid-nineteenth-century migrants,
they observed, moved to the Midwest and nine out of ten of those
went to rural areas. However, we
must not forget the rapid growth
of American cities. By 1900, Hall
and Ruggles note, even in the
West, less than half of the population were living on farms.
Online Genealogy
Resources
If your ancestors were part of
this mass migration west, the
following six online resources will
not only help you trace your
ancestry throughout nineteenth
century America, but allow you
to add historical context to your
family history.
1 PIONEER AND EARLY
SETTLER INDEXES AND
DATABASES
Were your ancestors among the
early pioneers to settle in a territory or state? Many historical,
genealogical and lineage societies
offer first family, pioneer, or early
settler certificates, and some have
created online indexes or databases from their records. The
Kansas Council of Genealogical
Societies (KSGS) issues Territorial, Pioneer, or Early Settler certificates to direct descendants of
those who lived in Kansas before
1900. From these records, KCGS
has created The Forgotten Settlers
of Kansas, 28 volumes containing
certificate applications and accompanying pedigree charts, and
provides an index to these volumes online, www.kcgs.us/forgot.
htm. To find societies which
honor pioneers and first families,
see Cyndi’s List of Genealogy
Sites on the Internet, www.
cyndislist.com/societies/lineage/
first-families.
Also check the records of
the Daughters of the American
Revolution. For example, the California Daughters of the American Revolution compiled its
records into the 27-volume
Records of the Families of the California Pioneers, and California
GenWeb, www.cagenweb.com/cpl/
dar1.htm, has an online index
to the volumes. Search for your
ancestors in the Genealogical
Records Committee Index, http://
s e r v i c e s . d a r. o r g / P u bl i c / D A R _
Research/search/?Tab_ID=6, on the
DAR’s online genealogical portal.
Map of the Louisiana Purchase Territory, 1903. (Courtesy National Archives)
19
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The Covered Wagon of the Great Western Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebraska. A family poses with the wagon in which they live
and travel daily during their pursuit of a homestead. (Courtesy National Archives) RIGHT: Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1876. General view of this
town on the Oregon Trail. (Courtesy National Archives)
LEFT:
Another valuable resource for
information on early settlers are
local, state, and regional archives.
For example, in honor of the
150th anniversary of Oregon’s
statehood, the Oregon State
Archives, http://sos.oregon.gov/
archives/Pages/records.aspx, created
the Early Oregonians Database
to document those who lived
in Oregon prior to statehood
through 1860. You’ll find more
than 600,000 entries in its Oregon Historical Records Index,
compiled from actual records held
in the archives.
Also check genealogy subscription sites for additional resources
on early settlers. For example,
Ancestry.com offers several databases for tracing California
pioneers, including California
Pioneers, 1542-1848, http://search.
ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=
1040, California, Pioneer and
Immigrant Files, 1790-1950,
http://search.ancestry.com/search/
db.aspx?dbid=2161, and C.W.
Haskins’ The Argonauts of California, http://search.ancestry.com/
search/db.aspx?dbid=25388.
2 MIGRATION DATABASES
AND WEBSITES
Between 1800 and 1870, more
than half a million emigrants followed the overland trails west.
20
According to trail historian
Merrill J. Mattes in Platte River
Road Narratives (University of
Illinois Press, 1988), an estimated
one out of every 250 emigrants
left a written account of some
kind.
More and more diaries and
memoirs are becoming available
online. A fine example is BYU’s
Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries
and Letters, 1846–1869, http://
overlandtrails.lib.byu.edu, a collection of original diaries and letters
recorded by emigrants during
their overland travels. See also its
suggested readings, http://over
landtrails.lib.byu.edu/suggested.php,
for a bibliography of additional
print sources.
For overland trails history, visit
the Oregon-California Trails
Association webpage, www.octatrails.org. Also check Paper Trail,
www.paper-trail.org/, its searchable index taken from thousands
of trail-related documents. Preliminary searches are free, but you
need a subscription to access
reports and surveys.
Do you have Mormon ancestors? Check FamilySearch’s Mormon
Migration
Database,
1840-1932, http://familysearch.
org/search/collection/2365248. For
firsthand accounts of their journeys, visit the Mormon Migration
website, http://mormonmigration.
lib.byu.edu/. Through a collaborative effort of FamilySearch and
Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel,
researchers can now compare the
Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel
database with their family tree on
FamilySearch through a new
website, http:/familysearch.org/
campaign/pioneers#.
3 FEDERAL, STATE, AND
TERRITORIAL CENSUS
RECORDS
Often referred to as the building
blocks of genealogy research,
census records allow you to trace
your nineteenth century ancestors
who moved west. The federal
censuses provide useful clues
which will lead you to additional
sources, especially beginning with
the watershed 1850 census, the
first to record the name and place
of birth for each person in a
household. The 1900-1940 census
records, in particular, can help
you locate immigration and
naturalization records. Search for
your ancestors in the 1790-1940
census collections on FamilySearch, http://familysearch.org/
census/us.
While the 1890 census was
mostly destroyed, you may find
alternate sources for the record
void. Ancestry.com’s 1890 census
substitute, http://search.ancestry.
com/search/group/1890census, includes the remains of the 1890
census, state censuses, city and
county directories, voter lists, and
other miscellaneous records. Ancestry.com also has census and
census substitute indexes covering
the 1800s for most states. Look
for local and state census substitutes as well. The Idaho State
Historical Society has created
Idaho, 1890, www.history.idaho.
gov/idaho-1890-reconstructedcensus, with the names of individuals living in Idaho between 1885
and 1894.
Also look for territory and state
census records online. For example, Minnesota has ten state
census record collections from
1849 through 1905. You can
search them through Minnesota
Historical Society’s State Census
Index,
http://people.mnhs.org/
census. The Oklahoma Historical
Society, www.okhistory.org/research/
1890, has a searchable every name
index to the 1890 Oklahoma
Territory Census. Again, check
subscription sites such as Ancestry.com for additional state and
local census records.
4 VITAL
RECORDS
Unfortunately, for much of their
early history the majority of
American territories and states
did not require vital records to be
kept. However, some vital records
may still be found at the local
level, and more and more of the
nineteenth century birth, marriage, and death records are becoming available online.
BYU-Idaho’s Western States
Marriage Record Index, http://
abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/
westernStates/search.cfm, has more
than 900,000 marriage records
now available and more to come
from 12 western states: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, New Mexico,
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Some state archives include
scanned record images online. You
can find Arizona birth records
from 1855-1938 and death
records from 1870-1963, http://
genealogy.az.gov. The Washington
State Digital Archives, http://
digitalarchives.wa.gov/Home, has
nearly 70 million searchable
records online. Missouri Digital
Heritage, www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/,
provides online access to more
than 9 million digitized state and
local records. Seeking Michigan’s
death records collection, http://
s e e k i n g m i ch i ga n . o r g / d i s c o ve r /
death-records-1897-1920, contains
nearly one million records created
between 1897 and 1920.
5 HOMESTEAD
RECORDS
Were your ancestors among the
millions who filed claims under
the Homestead Act of 1862 and
subsequent acts? Open to any US
citizen or individual intending to
be a citizen who was the head of a
household and over 21, the original Homestead Act offered 160
acres of public domain land.
Claimants were required to file an
application and make certain improvements: live on the land,
build a home, and farm it for five
years. The homesteader then
needed to submit proof that the
requirements had been met in
order to receive the land patent.
Through the homestead acts,
270 million acres in 30 states —
10 percent of US land — were
claimed and settled. Approximately 40 percent of claimants
were successful, and an estimated
93 million Americans are their
descendants.
The detailed land entry case
files for both successful and
unsuccessful claimants provide a
wealth of information, from land
improvements made, to possibly
identifying family members and
neighbors, or providing military
service, naturalization, and other
personal information. Use the Bureau of Land Management’s Land
Patent Search, www.glorecords.
blm.gov/default.aspx.
An effort is underway to digitize the over 800,000 homestead
records from 200 land offices.
Nebraska’s records were the first
to be digitized, and are now available online at Fold3, www.fold3.
com/title_650/homestead_records_ne,
with other states to follow. See
also the Homestead National
Monument of America’s page on
An effort is underway to digitize the over 800,000 homestead records from 200 land
offices. Nebraska’s records, the first to be digitized, are now available online at Fold3.
(Source Fold3.com)
21
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requesting homestead records,
www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/
requesting-homestead-records.htm.
6 BIOGRAPHICAL
RESOURCES
According to Kory Leland
Meyerink in Printed Sources: A
Guide to Published Genealogical
Records, biographical sketches
exist for five to seven million
Americans. Check for online
searchable indexes. The Idaho
State Historical Society offers
the Idaho Biographical Index,
www.history.idaho.gov/idaho-bio
graphical-index, with names found
in state and local histories, regional periodicals and newspapers. Many other states have
similar indexes online, including
Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, North
Dakota, and Wyoming.
Also check subscription sites,
including Ancestry.com’s U.S.
County History Catalog, http://
search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?
dbid=3227, and its Stories, Memories & Histories collection,
http://search.ancestry.com/search/
category.aspx?cat=33. Search the
extensive American County Histories collection of Accessible
Archives, www.accessible-archives.
com, available through personal
subscription or a local institution.
Don’t overlook obituaries for
biographical information. Many
archives, libraries, and other organizations have extensive obituary collections and may provide a
searchable index online, such as
the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Ohio Obituary
Index, http://index.rbhayes.org/
hayes/index, an online index to
three million obituaries, death
and marriage notices and other
Ohio records from the early 1800s
to the present. The Wisconsin
Historical Society, www.wisconsin
history.org/genealogy, allows you to
22
further reading
Read Ray Allen Billington’s classic, Westward Expansion: A History of the
American Frontier, (University of New Mexico Press, 2001, abridged sixth
edition). For a Native American perspective, see Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart
at Wounded Knee, (Macmillan, 1971).
For a comprehensive study of the frontier, read Malcolm J. Rohrbough’s
Trans-Appalachian Frontier: People, Societies, and Institutions, 1775-1850,
(Indiana University Press, 2008).
Discover more about the major routes that opened up the West in Arthur King
Peter’s Seven Trails West (Abbeville Press, 1996). Also read Will Bagley’s
So Rugged and Mountainous: Blazing the Trails to Oregon and California,
1812-1848 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2010).
Find diaries and letters of women who traveled west in the Covered Wagon
Women: Dairies and Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1890, an elevenvolume series 1840-1903, compiled and edited by Kenneth L. Holmes.
Read Francis Parkman’s first-person narrative of the overland journey and
frontier life, Oregon Trail, first published in 1849 (National Geographic, 2002).
Also see David Dary’s The Oregon Trail: An American Saga
(Alfred A. Knopf, 2004).
To learn about the California Gold Rush, see H.W. Brands’ narrative history,
The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
(Doubleday, 2002).
search their family history resources with over three million
records online.
Beyond the Internet
However convenient Internet
resources may be, look beyond
online databases of archives, libraries, and societies to additional
resources they might have available on site. Their collections
often include many early records:
birth, marriage, death, and burials; property, probate, and military
service; immigration, naturalization, and other primary sources.
You may also find city and county
directories, histories, historic
newspapers, and numerous other
biographical resources. See the
National Archives’ directory of
state archives and historical
societies, http://www.archives.gov/
research/alic/reference/state-archives
.html.
Due to high population movement, territorial changes, and lack
of civil recordkeeping, tracing the
paths of your ancestors who
moved westward during the nineteenth century can be difficult.
However, the above online resources found through state
archives, historical societies, and
local libraries can help you understand more about your ancestors
with pioneering spirit.
CAROL RICHEY is a freelance
writer and avid genealogist who
lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with
her husband and five children.
TRACING YOUR
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onl i ne di rectori es
Do You Have That Number?
Tony Bandy explores online historical Brooklyn,
New York phone and city directories
HILE MANY OF US TODAY THINK NOTHING OF TEXTING,
tweeting or scavenging our Facebook feeds for historical surnames or other information, it was not always
quite this easy. Often it was handwritten notes, asking
family members about a found name, or most importantly, consulting the giant paper phone or city directories that most
everyone had or could get hold of. Filled with streets, names, jobs and
more, these were the primary keys for information finding!
W
Heart of New York from Brooklyn, New York. (Library of Congress)
While these types of paper-based documents are not as common as
they once were, they’re still important for family history. If your investigations have led you to the Brooklyn, New York area, then I’ve found
an online treat for you: Multiple year runs of digitized city and telephone directories! Scanned by the Brooklyn Public Library and easily
available for use, there’s an amazing wealth of information just waiting
to be seen! Let’s take a closer look!
About the Collections
One of the premier big-city libraries, the Brooklyn Public Library’s
online digital portal can be found at www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyn
collection/our-collections. It’s quite impressive, with a plethora of digital
24
artifacts and databases useful
for genealogical investigation.
However, for this review we will be
concentrating only on the digitized
city and telephone directories, instead of the entire collection.
Let’s look first at the city directories. Not just names or phone
numbers, city directories contain
employment information, street
information, advertising and much
more. Ranging in availability from
1856 up through 1908, you can
find them at the following link:
www.bklynlibrar y.org/citydir.
Each item comes as a stand-alone
PDF file and ranges in size from
30 to 70 MB. In today’s computing environment, this makes them
very portable, easily fitting on
your mobile phone, flash drive or
computing device of choice.
So how about the telephone
directories? While you can find
information at the library’s website, it’s faster to jump directly
to the Internet Archive and the
following link: http://archive.org/
details/brooklynpubliclibrary. Digitized by the library, issues start
with the early part of the 20th
century and end about the middle
of the 1960’s, so there’s almost a
complete run available for search
and use.
For background and/or generalized information about these
directories, you might consider
checking out the library’s Brooklynology blog online at http://brook
lynology.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/
post/2012/04/10/Digitized-CityDirectories.aspx. Here you can find
examples and details to get you
started. You can also find a bit
more information about them via
the short review from Technically
Media, Inc. at this link: http://
technical.ly/brooklyn/2015/07/
14/brooklyn-public-library-putsmicrofilm-directories-online.
Searching and
Viewing Options
You will find searching and using
these resources pretty simple. If
you are using the online Internet
Archive-based links, start off first
with the online web browser
viewer. Using this, you can take
advantage of individual or multipage views, regular size or full
screen viewing options and even
audio annunciation! Don’t overlook thumbnail views either,
which are particularly useful if
you are looking for certain types
of illustrations or artwork.
Since the digital files based on
the Internet Archive have been
scanned via an optical character
recognition process (OCR — see
here for background information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Optical_character_recognition) into
individual issues, each word,
letter, and character are searchable, which makes this a much
more valuable resource. Via this
method, you can quickly locate
needed family information much
faster, but due to file size, it can
take some time to search results,
especially if your family name is a
common one.
Don’t forget that the files on the
Internet Archive are available in
multiple formats, including PDF
and file types such as:
❍
ePub
❍
Kindle
❍
Plain-Text
❍
JP-2 (Image format)
If you normally use ePub or
Kindle-based readers, this can
make things quite handy and reduce the need for always having a
larger laptop or similar computing
device with you. If you choose to
download the plain-text version,
then it is super easy to cut-andpaste these into your electronic
research notes, but there can be
inconsistencies in the machinebased translation. Check carefully
You’ll find the directories mostly legible and easy to scan for surnames or other information.
(Image courtesy Brooklyn Public Library — Brooklyn Collection,
www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyncollection)
The wide availability of years found for both
the city and telephone directories vastly
increases your options for finding family
information. (Image courtesy Brooklyn
Public Library — Brooklyn Collection,
www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyncollection)
with the online or PDF version
to make sure things were done
correctly.
If you are taking advantage
of the PDF files located on
the Brooklyn library’s site,
www.bklynlibrary.org/citydir, then
you will find PDF-based files
only. Even with these, there are
still methods of searching and
viewing the information. Start
first by downloading to your
tablet or laptop and then using
your PDF-reading software of
choice, you should be able to view
thumbnails, single or double-page
spreads and more.
Much like the files based at the
Internet Archive, these PDF files
are searchable, so you can use the
built-in software functionality to
find the names, streets or other
information you are looking for.
Using these files for my own
family research, I found that the
library has also placed an introductory page at the beginning of
the directory that includes layout
and pagination information.
Remember too, that since these
files are the digital representation
25
onl i ne di rectori es
of the physical book, you can still
use the indexing of the original
document, but be sure to adjust
against the pagination of the electronic file as well.
Putting It into Practice!
So we’ve viewed the files and spoken about some of the options you
will find in them. However, before
jumping into the actual resources,
it’s important to have a research
plan. Grab a piece of paper and
pen and write down the following
ideas to help concentrate your
focus:
● Are you looking for a single year
or multiple-year time spans?
● Geographical or street
information?
● Multiple surnames, locality infor-
mation (neighborhood nicknames,
etc.), or other facts/history?
The upshot here is to plan
beforehand and then search the
digital files without getting sidetracked or running out of time.
Lastly, when using the directories, note that phone listings need
no explanation and you can
quickly zero in on surnames and
other information by going alphabetically from A-Z. Business and
city information can usually be
found either at the front or back
of these resources and will sometimes include illustrations and/or
artwork that might be useful.
City directories, on the other
hand are quite different, and contain much more information,
including occupations, multiple
street addresses and more. You
might need more time or a different strategy when searching these.
Look for name variants or even
possible errors in the original
materials (as compared with your
own research).
Final Thoughts
Overlooked by many in our digital age of social media and instant
gratification, paper-based city
and phone directories may seem
quaint yet can hold the historical
keys to our family information
from long ago. If your research is
leading you to the New York City
area and in particular Brooklyn,
then you owe it to yourself to
spend some time poring over
these digital collections. Who
knows, you might find something
quite interesting!
TONY BANDY is a regular
contributor to Internet Genealogy
on technology related to family
history research.
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War of 1812
War of 1812 Online Resources
Diane L. Richard looks at the growing number of resources
online and available for US and Canadian researchers
ITH THE 200 TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR OF 1812
being celebrated the past few years (1812-1815), many
are learning what I have known for years – it’s a conflict rarely talked about in the US (and much more popular when one tours Canada) and there are some neat
records that survived and might prove invaluable to your genealogical
research. The good news is, that a lot of War of 1812 records are
becoming increasingly available, as never before, via the internet. And,
I expect that by the time you read this article, there will be even more!
With many early 19th century records not extant, and a lot of movement occurring as individuals and families continued moving westward,
these records can really be helpful in bridging from where a family
ended up to where it started and also help fill in details of birth places,
dates, marriage date and place, surviving children and much more!
For one patriot, Jordan Coat(e)s, after exhausting all the local extant
records, it was through his widow’s War of 1812 bounty land application that we learned where and when he married and when he died.
Both events for which NO other documentation has ever been found!
Like others though, until fairly recently, most of my military genealogy research focused on the Revolutionary War and Civil War with brief
forays into the records of other conflicts. I now consider whether War
of 1812 service is feasible and, if so, pursue the relevant records.
As with all online research, recognize that not all War of 1812 records
are available online, or have even been published. This caveat is important since the War of 1812 records are relatively new to the web, and
what is available is less complete than for other military record groups.
Additionally, records, like Unindexed Military Bounty Land Warrants
and Related Papers (NARA, Record Group 49), are just now being
indexed, and are only available at NARA.
And, though more and more records for the War of 1812 are becoming available, they are NOT always indexed. Both FamilySearch and
Ancestry.com have digitized records for which there is currently no
index, as does Library and Archives Canada. Typically, newly digitized
material is made available in a somewhat raw version and then as staff
and/or volunteers are able, such records might be then indexed with the
W
Jordan Coats Service Card.
indexed entries eventually linked
to the raw images. What this
means for you, the researcher, is
that you will just need to “browse”
the appropriate “digital microfilm”
31
War of 1812
(often organized alphabetically) and that’s no different than what we do when physically visiting an archive!
And, note, that some of the records are available at more than one website. Given differences in indexing
(in terms of name spelling, information included, etc.), it can make sense to check more than one version of
the “seemingly” same index. For one project, I examined at least 3 of the “same” indexes and it was the last
one checked which indicated that the file of my soldier cross-referenced another soldier; the other indexes
or versions of the document did not mention that as they were abstracts of the document and not an
original of it. And, always better to find a reference more than once than not at all!
Below are “some” of the War of 1812 resources currently available to those researching War of 1812
ancestors in the US and Canada. The focus is on databases with some historical context resources.
ONLINE WAR OF 1812 RESOURCES (US)
War of 1812 Pensions – preserved and digitized, https://go.fold3.com/1812pensions.php
[free] — an ongoing project to digitize all
War of 1812 Pension Records (7.2 million
pages) which is being funded by individual
and organizational donations matched dollar for dollar by Ancestry.com. These records
are housed on Fold3 and other partners are
FGS and NARA. Read more about the
Preserve the Pensions project, www.preserve
thepensions.org.
Now we’ll take a look at the many resources available to you, as you sit at home,
possibly in your jammies, while you research
ancestors who may have served in the War
of 1812.
1. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) [free]
❍ War of 1812 Discharge Certificates, www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812/1812-discharge
-certificates/discharge-certificates.html, including a list of soldiers by name,
www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812/1812-discharge-certificates/soldiers-by-name.html
❍ Where and how to do online ordering for War of 1812 Pension Files, Military Bounty Land Warrants,
etc. via NARA, http://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eservices.
archives.gov
❍ Learn more about the War of 1812 and the records created via this NARA website, “Military
Resources: War of 1812”, www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812
❍ Learn more about the Unindexed Bounty Land Warrant Applications,
http://research.archives.gov/description/567388
2. FamilySearch.org [free]
❍ United States, War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910,
http://familysearch.org/search/collection/1834325
❍ United States, War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815,
www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/
1916219
32
❍ Old War Pension Index, 1815-1926 — card index to pension files located at NARA for service in the
Regular Army, Navy or Marine Corps between 1783 and 1861. NARA microfilm T316,
http://familysearch.org/search/collection/1979425
❍ Various “state” records for this conflict, e.g. “Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists”
❍ Also check out the “War of 1812” wiki page for additional information about this conflict and resources,
www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/War_of_1812,_1812_to_1815
❍ Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists, http://familysearch.org/search/collection/1527724
3. Search the Internet for a particular state or county + “War of 1812” or just on the
“War of 1812” to see what you can find. See #6 for some NC-specific finds, and
some of the gems I found for other states include:
❍ War of 1812 Roster of Ohio Soldiers (1,759 Officers & 24,521 enlisted men),
http://archive.org/details/rosterofohiosold00ohio & U.S.D. 1812 Ohio Society Online Index to Grave
Records of Servicemen of the War of 1812, State of Ohio, www.ohiodaughters1812.org/graveindex
❍ Illinois War of 1812 Veterans, www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/war1812.html
❍ [Virginia] Index to War of 1812 Pay Rolls and Muster Rolls (~ 40,000 names),
http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas12&local_base=CLAS12
❍ [Missouri] Soldiers’ Records: War of 1812 - World War I, www.sos.mo.gov/archives/soldiers
❍ Indiana Muster, Pay and Receipt Rolls, War of 1812, www.ulib.iupui.edu/collections/War1812
❍ War of 1812 Pensioners in Michigan, 1883, www.genealogycenter.info/search_michigan1812.php
❍ [Maine] Pensioners under the Act of 1816 (via Genealogy Quest) – select counties including
Cumberland, http://genealogy-quest.com/states/maine/1816-cumberland-county-maine, Hancock,
Kennebeck, Lincoln, etc.) — Statement of the Names, etc. of the Heirs of non-commissioned Officers,
Privates, etc., who died in the United States’ service, who obtained five years’ half-pay in lieu of bounty
land, under the second section of the Act of April 16, 1816, and who resided in the State of Maine.
❍ [Pennsylvania] War of 1812 Soldier’s Index Pages, www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r2-61War1812
Index/r2-61%20WarOf1812Interface.htm — Arranged alphabetically by surname of soldier. An undated
list of soldiers who served during the War of 1812. The index lists each soldier’s name, term of service,
and the name of the company commander. Written remarks noting desertions or the name of the
battalions in which a militiaman served are also sometimes found.
4. Ancestry.com [subscription]
Databases mentioned
❍ War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 18121815, http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1133
❍ War of 1812 Service Records,
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=4281
❍ War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815-1858;
(NARA Microfilm Publication M848), http://search.
ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1165
Ancestry.com Catalog search on "War of 1812" as part
of title.
33
War of 1812
Example of War of 1812 Pension Index Card – note that not all the
cards are this detailed – many just list soldier, what unit served and
pension/blw issued.
Example of a War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrant from NARA
microfilm M848.
❍ Search catalog for “War of 1812” for additional material such as Prisoner of War, War of 1812 Papers
and other relevant state-level collections (e.g. Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, et al).
5. Fold3 [mix of free & subscription],
www.fold3.com/browse/247
❍ War of 1812 Pension files (already mentioned)
❍ War of 1812 Service Records
(includes Creek & Chickasaw Indians),
www.fold3.com/browse/276
❍ War of 1812 Society Applications (District of
Columbia), www.fold3.com/browse/300
❍ and more
6. NC Specific – check for similar publications for your state
[free unless otherwise indicated]
❍ War of 1812 Pay vouchers, http://digital.ncdcr.
gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16062coll7.
There is also a published Index to War of
1812 Vouchers (includes vouchers for 28 out
of 68 counties at the time) in the NC
Archives research room.
❍ AIC18, War of 1812 Records in the North
Carolina State Archives (a finding aid),
http://nc1812.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/archives-1812-records.pdf
❍ The State of NC has created a website dedicated to the War of 1812, http://nc1812.wordpress.com
❍ Military Collection, War of 1812 Records (a finding aid),
http://archives.ncdcr.gov/Portals/26/PDF/findingaids/pdf/MilColl_Warof1812.pdf
34
❍ Index – Muster rolls of the soldiers of the War of 1812: Detached from the Militia of North Carolina
in 1812 and 1814, http://archive.org/details/musterrollsofsol00nort & (via Ancestry.com),
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=10166
❍ [print volumes only – State Archives of North Carolina & State Library of North Carolina]
Adjutant Generals Records, Index to the Manuscript Muster Rolls of the War of 1812 by
Kendrick N. Simpson (1980)
❍ Online NC War of 1812 rosters — http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/statewide/military/1812roll.txt
❍ North Carolina — The War of 1812, The Known Military Units from North Carolina,
www.carolana.com/NC/1800s/antebellum/war_of_1812_military_units.html
❍ Abstract of pensions of North Carolina soldiers of the Revolution, War of 1812, & Indian Wars,
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=30057 (via Ancestry.com)
❍ North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal articles Index, www.ncgenealogy.org/publications/ncgsjournal/171-ncgs-journal-a-listing-of-articles-1/file — search on “War of 1812” though recognize that the
Governors Papers for 1812-1815 would also have relevance.
7. Additional online collections relevant to War of 1812 research [free]
❍ Native Americans Mustered into the Service of the United States in the War of 1812 (USGenWeb
Project), www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyrensse/indians.htm?cj=1&netid=cj&o_xid=0000584978&o_lid=
0000584978&o_sch=Affiliate+External — Information on this page is from Index of Awards on Claims of
the Soldiers of the War of 1812, compiled by the New York Adjutant General’s Office.
❍ N.S.U.S.D. of 1812 Ancestor Database (United States Daughters of 1812),
www.usdaughters1812.org/dbLaunch.html — database contains over 40,943 records that
have been officially verified by the National Society United States Daughters of 1812.
❍ Naval Officers in the War of 1812
(Naval History and Heritage Command),
www.history.navy.mil/ browse-by-topic/
organization-and-administration/historicalleadership/naval-officers-of-the-war-of1812.html
❍ 1820 Pension List For Revolutionary or
Military Services [also includes lists for
1813, 1818 and 1840], www. newhorizons
genealogicalservices.com /1820-pension-list.htm
❍ General Society of the War of 1812,
www.societyofthewarof1812.org, includes a
timeline, links and state society information.
❍ Index to War of 1812 Pensions
(Debbie Duay), www.learnwebskills.com/
patriot/war1812pensions.htm — This
ongoing project is part of the free tutorial
“Researching Your Revolutionary War Patriot Ancestor”. Currently, this site provides a free index to
over 32,000 War of 1812 pension application files for soldiers with last names beginning with the letters
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.
35
War of 1812
❍ A Guide to the War of 1812 (The Library of Congress),
www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/1812
❍ Recognize that the Federal Direct Tax of 1816 was a means of financing
the War of 1812, www.archives.com/experts/richard-l-diane/using-federaldirect-tax-records.html
❍ War of 1812: Privateers, www.1812privateers.org/index.html — Principally
the activities of both American and British privateers; including listings
of American POWS held in the UK, and British subjects held in the
United States.
❍ US Army Center of Military History, War of 1812,
www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wo1812.html
Raleigh (North Carolina) Register,
and North-Carolina Gazette,
November 18, 1814.
One more note — Because of the way pensions were handled, some records
for those who served in the War of 1812 are part of collections that also encompass those who served in the Revolutionary War. Two such databases are
the 1820 Pension List for Revolutionary or Military Services, January 20, 1820,
www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/1820-pension-list.htm and the 1840
Census for Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services, June 1, 1840,
www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/1840-census-of-pensioners.htm (both
from New Horizons Genealogical Services).
ONLINE WAR OF 1812 RESOURCES (CANADA)
1. Search the internet for a particular province + “War of 1812”
2. Ancestry.com [subscription]
❍ Canada, Registers of Prisoners of War, 1803-1815, http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=30057
❍ War of 1812: Miscellaneous Canadian Records, http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=6151
3. FamilySearch – NO records as we go to press
4. Library and Archives of Canada [free]
❍ [NEW Dec 2015] Library and Archives
of Canada (LAC) – War of 1812 Database, www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/
military-heritage/war-of-1812/Pages/
introduction.aspx — There are no service
files for the Canadian militia; however,
Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
holds a unique and vast collection of
records about the Canadian men and
women who were involved in the War of
1812. Their names can be found on
muster rolls, pay lists, claims, certificates
of service, land grants, and medal
registers.
36
Entry from Library and Archives of Canada War of 1812 Database.
❍ Microform Digitization, War of 1812, www.
bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/pages/new-digitizedreels-war-of-1812-records.aspx
- War of 1812: Board of Claims for Losses,
1813-1848, RG 19 E5A
- War of 1812: Lower Canada Nominal Rolls
and Paylists, RG 9 1A7
- War of 1812: Miscellaneous Records
- War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal
Rolls and Paylists, RG 9 1B7
❍ Main website on The War of 1812,
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/military/0250022100-e.html [archived though accessible]
❍ Canada in the War of 1812 (FamilySearch
Wiki), http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/
Canada_in_the_War_of_1812
Gratuity Application by Alexander Clark, a Wyandot Indian Chief
and Survivor of the War of 1812 found in Library and Archives
Canada, RG10 (Indian Affairs).
❍ Great overview of what types of records of interest to genealogists are extant for the British
Colonial Era, including War of 1812 Muster
Rolls for Upper (Ontario) and Lower (Quebec)
Canada, www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/militaryheritage/Pages/british-colonial-era.aspx
❍ Do a general search of the Library and Archives
Canada as all War of 1812 documents are not
necessarily in the aforementioned collections. I
found “Claim of Alexander Clark to a Gratuity,
Being a Survivor of the War of 1812-1814” as
part of an Indian Affairs (RG10, Volume 1957,
File 4669) collection.
As with all lists, it’s impossible to be comprehensive and hopefully you are now inspired to further
research your War of 1812 ancestor. Whether stuck
or not in your research, if you have an ancestor who
could have served in the War of 1812, thoroughly
look into these records – you too may find some
hidden gems of information!
Canadian War of 1812 Paylist from RG 9 1A7 from
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca.
DIANE L. RICHARD has been doing
genealogy research since 1987. She is
currently editor of Upfront with NGS,
North Carolina Genealogical Society
Journal and Wake Treasures (journal of
the Wake County Genealogical Society) and a
professional genealogy and family historian researcher,
speaker, and writer. She can be found online at
www.mosaicrpm.com. (Or scan the QR code with your
mobile phone or tablet device.)
37
geneal ogy softw are
GEDitCOM II
Tony Bandy looks at the latest version of
this popular program for Mac users
P
UTTING TOGETHER OUR FAMILY HISTORY THESE DAYS CAN BE
fairly challenging. Quite often, it’s not so much the data as it
is in choosing which software to utilize. Windows users have
had this problem for years, but now it seems, Apple users have
to make tough choices as well. From RootsMagic, Reunion,
and Heredis to iFamily, MacFamilyTree and others, there’s a cornucopia
of options available.
Navigating and editing family information in GEDitCOM II is quite easy to do in the
Mac-based user interface.
Now, let me share one more with you: GEDitCOM II. Steadily updated since 2009, and a direct descendant of the original GEDitCOM
software, I found a lot to like in this latest edition. If you’re looking to
change or update your genealogy program, let’s take a quick look at the
application and highlight some of its features!
About the Software
Quick, lean and fast! I found these are quite apt descriptions for this
application. While a lot of genealogy programs these days are racing to
expand with web-based technologies, proprietary database formats, and
more, GEDitCOM II takes a different tack, focusing exclusively on
working with the widespread and familiar GEDCOM-based file format. Bolstered by a toolset that gives you the flexibility you need as well
38
as many individual details, I found
it quite useful in its approach to
my family files.
Installation
For this review, I downloaded the
demo version of the software for
my Apple iMac running the latest
Apple OS X operating system.
The software package is a fairly
small download and the installation went well for the most part,
using the standard Apple installation method of copying the software to the applications folder.
You might encounter a bit of
problem during the install due to
Apple’s new security warning
about downloaded software outside of the App Store. The developer of GEDitCOM assured me
however, that there were no issues
with the program, and is working
to address this. (For a quick
fix, you can go into the System
Preferences of your Mac, and
allow installation of software from
places other than the Mac App
Store.)
Overall, you will find that
GEDitCOM supports most modern Mac OS X operating system
versions, but if you are unsure or
if you have any questions about
your particular version of the
operating system, check the
GEDitCOM II support page at
www.geditcom.com/GCEmail.html
for updated details.
Getting Started!
Starting the program for the first
time, you can either begin with a
new family file or import any existing GEDCOM file that you
may already have. For this review,
we’ll take a look at both of these
methods and see how the software
works with each.
Starting off first with an existing GEDCOM file as a foundation, import your research to
quickly get going. At this point,
you can either validate your imported data immediately or save it
for later. There’s really no right or
wrong answer here, as it all depends on the quality of your file
and your research schedule. Given
the widespread sharing of family
information via online subscription services as well as friends and
family, this is a nice option to
have.
If you choose to validate immediately, GEDitCOM II will go
through your data line by line
and let you know of any invalid or
unrecognized GEDCOM tags,
offering you the option to ignore,
report or delete them. Once done,
you will be presented with a
linked report that you can go
through and edit as needed.
Finally, if you’ve chosen to validate your GEDCOM import
later, this option is easily available
from within the program by
choosing the Reports — Validate
GEDCOM Data option.
Manual Data Entry
If you are not using an existing
family file, then GEDitCOM II
will start up with a blank file
ready for you to begin entering
data by hand. To do so, from
the top menu, select Tree — New
Record, and then the type of individual you wish to start with.
From here, you will find it quite
easy to enter various life events,
notes, data and other personal information. Once done, close out
the window and your family file is
now updated! You can proceed as
needed through the rest of the
families and persons in your list.
While adding data by hand
is never the easiest, I found
GEDitCOM II to be a snap, not
just in adding family members,
but all types of information from
my research, including:
❍
Multimedia elements
(pictures, scans, etc.)
❍
Notes from trips
❍
Research logs and other
data types
For each of these data subsets
(as well as person types), you’ll
like the flexibility as well as the
many categories to choose from.
Lastly, if you’re new to the
software, you might consider
using some of the demo
GEDPKG programs that come
with the program to familiarize
yourself with these options before
starting with your own family file.
This way, your data is not at risk
while you learn.
Reporting
While it’s easy to only focus on
getting our data into our favorite
genealogy software, reporting and
sharing that data with others is
important as well. This is a vital
part of any program that you
choose. GEDitCOM II offers a
wide range of possibilities in this
area. Using my test family file,
here is a sample of some of the
listings I found:
❍
Address Book
❍
Age Analysis
❍
Ahnentafel Report
❍
Sources Quality
❍
Calendar
❍
Generations
Note that reports are printable
or using the onboard Apple Mac
options, you can save as PDF files
for easily sharing with others.
Depending on the file size, this
can take some time, but for my
3,000-person sample file, it was
around a minute or so.
Mini-tools such as the Date checker and the Ahnentafel report can help in weeding out errors from your family data.
39
geneal ogy softw are
Extensions
What’s a great way to make your
genealogy software more valuable? Some might say it’s the
pieces that make up the whole.
Others might say flexibility and
cost. I would argue that it’s the
ability to edit and create within
the software program itself!
GEDitCOM II offers this extensibility through an additional
editing tool known as the
GEDitCOM Editor.
While not for everyday use, and
beyond the scope of our quick
program highlights, if your research demands custom data
manipulation and changing how
the GEDitCOM software works
via custom templating, Python/
Ruby scripting and even tags,
then this is something you should
investigate.
While it’s not necessarily an
easy thing to learn, I found quite
a bit of help, examples and information at the following link:
www.geditcom.com/extensions/
index.html. Be sure to practice a
bit with this as well before you
jump right into using this with
your current family file!
Other Tools
While I’ve mentioned working
with your data, reporting functions
and extensions, GEDitCOM II
also offers other functionalities
such as:
❍
Date Checking
❍
HTML Link Validation
❍
Place Advisor
❍
Media Browser
Without accurate dating, our
family files can be wildly inaccurate. The same can also be said for
any shared files that we may acquire. Using the date checking
options, you can check age limits,
parents ages as compared with
40
Use the Place Atlas as an essential partner in your research!
children and even spousal ages
across your entire data file or specific subset.
HTML Link Validation is one
of those small routines that can
escape our checklists. With this
function, GEDitCOM II scrolls
through your data file, checking
and comparing HTML outbound
links to outside resources as well
as internal linkages present within
the file, pointing out errors and
possible corrections to consider.
The Place Advisor is a great
tool to learn about where your ancestors lived as well as bits of cultural and other significant history.
With this part of the software,
get started first by starting with
Window — Place Advisor. This
will then bring up a new window
(or in your favorite web browser)
where you can drill down geographically and find many types
of additional information including historical, gravesite (Find A
Grave external linkages) and others. Once done, you can copy this
to a new Place record within your
own family file.
Working within your Mac’s operating system and applications,
as well as the files within your
GEDitCOM II family file, the
reviews & links
While we’ve taken an overall look at GEDitCOM II, there’s much more to the
software that you really should consider. To help out, take a few moments and use
the following informational links to get yourself acquainted with additional specific
features and tutorials.
Eastman’s Genealogy Newsletter, GEDitCOM II for Macintosh and for Mobile
Devices: http://blog.eogn.com/2015/06/18/geditcom-ii-for-macintosh-and-formobile-devices
GEDitCOM II Release Notes: www.geditcom.com/downlds/GCRelease.html
Writing GEDitCOM Extensions: www.geditcom.com/tutorials/scripting.html
Google Group (Discussion List), GEDitCOM II:
http://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/geditcom-ii-discussions
Media Browser helps to both organize and categorize media
across a broad range of types,
from the traditional imagery to
scans, audio, movies and more.
This includes linkage additions as
well as drag-and-drop capabilities. For more information on
this, try the following link: www.
geditcom.com/GCFeat.html.
Costs and Availability
Costs do play a factor in our genealogy research. GEDitCOM II
offers various options in this
area. First, the program is completely FREE to use for around
two weeks and after that is still
usable in “reader” mode, to
view GEDCOM files or any
GEDitCOM II files you might
have initially created.
If you decide to keep the software after this time period, then
you can purchase an initial license
for around $64.99. To upgrade
previous editions of GEDitCOM
to GEDitCOM II is $20, but
upgrading current editions of the
software is free.
Details, tutorials, updates and
availability can be directly found
at the GEDitCOM website at
www.geditcom.com. There you will
also learn about the program history, screenshots and more. If you
prefer a direct download, this link
should work: www.geditcom.com/
GCDown.html.
Wrap-Up
While many Apple users can now
rejoice about the multitude of
genealogy software now available
for the Mac OS X environment,
it can be quite the challenge to
figure out which program is
best. With the latest revision of
GEDitCOM II, I found there’s a
lot to like, from the extensibility
of the scripting to the geography
viewer and even something
as simple as entering family
member’s information into the
program.
For my quick first look at
this edition of the application, I
found it to be stable, detailed and
quite useful for my family file. I
encountered no crashes or other
program issues. There is a bit of
a learning curve at first, if only
because of the many program
options, but after using it for a
while, everything worked as it
should.
Interested in learning more?
Not sure if this will fit your needs?
Then go ahead and download the
demo and take a test drive. Use
the included sample files or even a
file of your own. Incorporate it
into your research for a week or so
and see how things work out!
history research.
Coming in May 2016
Movie Theatres and Your Genealogy
Finding Biographical Sketches Online
Finding Peter Brady ● NetNotes
Using Google Maps for Genealogy
Stowaways in Your Family
Content subject to change
41
ephemera
Flickr, Culture and Your Genealogy
Tony Bandy shows how you can go beyond
just facts and dates
ATES. SURNAMES. LOCATIONS. BIRTHS. DEATHS. MARRIAGE .
If you’re working on your family history, then this type of
data is what you need. Using this, you can quickly put together your family tree and associate names, relationships
and more. However, for all the information that this data
gives us, it’s maybe more interesting in what it does NOT reveal: The
stories, the history, the culture.
It can be troublesome to locate this type of intangible data. We can
talk with our friends and family, and sometimes this works well. Often
it’s not so easy. However, there is another resource that you could
consider searching: Flickr!
Yes, that’s right, the Internet imaging service known as Flickr,
www.flickr.com. While you may have heard about it as a place to just
exchange and locate photos, I’ve found that it can be quite fruitful in
locating cultural and historical references for my family history as well.
If you’ve hit a brick wall and need more inspiration, let me share with
you three reasons this could work.
D
REASON #1: Scanned Documents
When you think about scanned documents, it’s easy to only consider
official things such as wills, marriage licenses and others. However, in
today’s world, scanned documents cover almost everything – including
candy wrappers, bus tickets, scrapbook pages and more. The term that
best describes this is called "ephemera"... or as Wikipedia states it,
“…transitory written or printed matter…” (http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Ephemera). There is a LOT of this on Flickr!
Let’s take an example! Let’s say you’re looking for any information on
your ancestors who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. You’ve got a surname, but you’re trying to find out more
about the culture, how they lived their daily lives, their neighborhoods
and more.
Using Flickr to search for the phrase “Pittsburgh ephemera” or
“Pittsburgh documents”, I was able to retrieve over 7,000 unique images
relating to the city, including digitized letters, postcards, advertising
flyers, maps and more. Scrolling through these individual results actually led to me finding more information — and leads.
One caution, however, is that unlike database searching, where you
42
Unit photos uploaded to Flickr, such as this
one from the Library of Congress, can add
depth to factual details you might have
already found. (No copyright restriction)
can immediately find results via
surname, researching via this
method does, by necessity, require
a bit more investigative work —
and sometimes you don’t find
what you are looking for. The upshot here is that finding the right
keywords or finding one good
photo can make all the difference.
REASON #2
Cultural and Historical
Often overlooked by many is the
fact that things are just different
in today’s world. Our methods of
transportation, communication,
and even what we eat and drink
are quite different than what
was available to our ancestors. As
such, finding cultural and historical information from their vantage point brings depth to the
hard data and facts which we
might already have.
Searching Flickr for this information is quite easy… and really
fun. Let’s say your recent ancestors were at the original opening
of Disneyland back in the 1950s
and you’ve spoken with aunts or
uncles who might actually remember some of the trips. One of
best ways to add to your family
history narrative would be vintage
photographs or other information
about the park.
Using Flickr, and typing in the
terms “vintage Disney”, I was able
to retrieve over 6,000 images!
Many of these were family pictures, but also quite a few were
about the park, rides, weather,
what folks even had for dinner. I
also stumbled across images of
vintage napkins, placemats and
other paper ephemera as was
mentioned previously.
In this photo, also uploaded by the Library
of Congress, notice the cultural aspects,
from the uniform of the soldier to the dress
worn by the woman. Each of these can
provide small, but worthwhile clues for your
family research. (No copyright restriction)
REASON #3:
Narratives and other
Personal Information
The last reason that Flickr could
be a gold mine of family information for you is the amount of
diaries and other personal documents that have been digitized
and uploaded by others. This last
one is extremely tricky and there’s
a good chance you might not find
things such as this specifically
relating to your family. Consider
searching for keywords including
surname, location, or other bits of
information and the terms “diary”
or “narrative” just to see what you
can retrieve. You might also consider adding other keywords such
as “genealogical” or “genealogy”.
A Quick Caution!
OK…so everything is great!
We’ve got this wonderful site,
with tons of photos and we’re
ready to add these en masse to our
family information file, right?
WRONG! Before we do anything
as rash as this, let’s take a step
back and think about some cautions first. In particular:
❍
Types of Search
❍
Copyright and other
legal thoughts
❍
Flickr groups
Type of search is important.
Flickr offers both basic and advanced searching and you can
even search for specific persons
and groups. The keyword here is
to experiment and get a feel for
what might work best. There’s no
one certain way, so plan on spending some time working this out.
Don’t rush.
Copyright, especially in the case
of scanned documents and uploaded images is always important. While many things on Flickr
are not copyrighted (such as historical photos uploaded by the
US Library of Congress and other
organizations/archives), some are,
and it’s important that you think
of this before you print the photo
out or re-use it for your own work.
The nice thing here is that Flickr
does have a complete guide on
each photo with the license that it
is attached to, as well as contact
information. Be sure to get in
touch if you are unsure.
One last consideration is what
In this more modern photo, uploaded by
the State Library and Archives of Florida,
notice the design and styles of both the
business and automobiles. This can all add
depth to your collection of facts, dates and
stories. (No copyright restriction)
is known as “groups” on Flickr.
These are persons (Flickr users)
who have banded together and
upload, post, and share links to
photos on the site around a common theme. For example, let’s say
you are looking for some vintage
images from the early 1900’s
to add to your family history. It
would be possible to search Flickr
for groups whose specific focus
would be on images such as this.
If this sounds appealing, do some
research and see if you can find
something close to your keyword
or topic of interest.
Final Thoughts
What we do as genealogists is
never an exact science. What procedures and information we find
and use can vary greatly from
resource to resource. Sometimes
by looking in the unexpected
places, we can find treasure troves
of goodness and family history.
In this sense then, Flickr might
just be your next great find. If
you’ve never had a chance to use
this expansive resource, I would
urge you to give it a try today.
history research.
43
Reference Quicksheets
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for the Genealogists
Brickwall Research
Strategies
Preserving Family
Archives
Basics of Birth
Certificates
Masonic
Research
Understanding
Ancestry DNA
Understanding
Family Tree DNA
Evernote for the
Genealogists
Scrivener for the
Genealogists
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w ebs i te revi ew s
Genealogy looks at websites and
NET Internet
related news that are sure to be of interest
NOTES
David A. Norris looks at websites and related news that are sure to be of interest
How Far Away is That Horizon?
The self-explanatory and helpful “Distance to the Horizon Calculator”
is available at www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm. You enter the height
of your viewing point, and set it for feet or meters, to get the approximate distance to the horizon. If, for instance, you were standing on the
beach and your eye level is five feet, the horizon would be 2.7 miles
away. From a lighthouse at a height of 120 feet, the horizon is 13.4
miles. The site also points out you can use this calculator in reverse. If
one was in a small boat, you could see the top of a 1,000-foot-high
mountain, 38.7 miles at sea. Depending on the terrain, of course, one
might also use the calculator to figure how far someone might be able
to see from a hilltop, ridge, second-floor window, or other sites.
SWilsonInfo: Irish Maps and Other Sources
A treasure trove of Irish genealogical source material is offered at Shane
Wilson’s site, www.swilson.info/index.php. Heavy record losses add great
complications to Irish genealogy, so these resources offer some potential “work-arounds” to track down family history.
First, there are several map collections and apps. Among them,
“Taylor & Skinner’s Maps” includes 288 maps from the 1777 Maps
of the Roads of Ireland. One can enlarge and pan each map, and see a
parallel image showing a spot’s current location on Google Maps. A
collection of 14 detailed maps show the growth and extent of Dublin
between 1610 and 1948. “Grafton St. Map and Details 1848” is a modern creation, based on the 1848 Thom’s Directory and contemporary
maps. Grafton Street was then a major commercial street in Dublin,
and the map shows the approximate location of scores of over 100
shops, small manufacturers, and offices.
The “R.C. Chapel and Parish Search” allows one to select a spot on
a modern Google Map. Then, you select a search radius of 10, 20, or 30
kilometers. The app will show you the names of the Catholic parishes
and their churches as they were in the 1830s and 1840s.
The “Townland Database” helps one navigate the divisions of local
government in Ireland. A county where an Irish ancestor lived was generally divided into smaller divisions including poor law unions (districts
established after the Poor Law of 1838); baronies; and townlands. This
database lets you search for a small place and
find what local government districts it
belonged to, or what smaller units a larger
district included. The “RC Parish-Townland
Database” is a cross-reference for church
parishes and civil parishes and townlands.
Other resources include databases and
collections such as “Photographers of Ireland
1848-1958”. Included are nearly 1,000 photographers, with their names, addresses,
and the dates they were in business. The information was mined from directories and
other sources, and compiled in a searchable
database.
45
w ebsi te revi ews
A Close Look at the Lusitania
“The Lusitania Resource” offers “history, passenger and crew biographies, and Lusitania facts” at www.rmslusitania.info. Of the 1,960
people aboard the British luxury liner Lusitania when she was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915,
almost 1,200 died. Many Americans and citizens of other neutral countries perished in the sinking. The sinking of the liner helped turn
American sentiment against Germany, although other incidents led to
the US entry into the war in 1917.
Entries for passengers and crew members sometimes contain photos
and biographical information. You can also do a site search, checking
for names, home towns, or other key words.
A Union Army Gravesite Database
Activated in 2005, the Grave Database of the Sons of Union Veterans
of the Civil War can be searched at www.suvcwdb.org/home/
search.php?action=search. Hundreds of thousands of entries are available,
and you can search by first or last name; rank; state; units; branch of
service; and place of burial.
The amount of information varies, but some entries will yield
numerous biographical details. And, even entries with limited data
can give you a cemetery location, date of death, and other information
to give you quick starting points for follow-up research.
The construction of the search page lets you find all available listings for members of a particular unit, which you can further narrow
down to state, county, rank, or other criteria. This can be useful for
working in a unit history, as well as investigating other soldiers who
served in the same unit as your ancestor.
Besides searching by state, you can also search grave sites by country.
Ninety-six Civil War veteran interments are listed in Australia, for
instance. Worldwide, there are scattered burials
of Union veterans in Japan, India, South
Africa, Brazil, and other places far away from
the war’s battlegrounds.
A Page for Railroad Fans
The Piedmont and Western Railroad Club’s page at www.pwrr.org/
index.html, while based in North Carolina, also offers some treats for
anyone interested in US railroads and trolley car lines.
Genealogists with North Carolina connections may enjoy the “North
Carolina Railroad Station Photo Page” at www.pwrr.org/nstation/
index.html. Here, one can find over 1,600 photos of depots in over
400 cities and towns. Photos include modern images contributed
by volunteers, as well as historical images from various archives and
collections.
“Past and Present Traction Systems of North Carolina” lists about
20 city and interurban rail systems in the state between 1889 and 1958,
with a mention of the modern trolley car system in Charlotte. The related “Traction Images” section has pages featuring 15 North Carolina
trolley car systems, as well as about 40 pages for systems in other states
and countries.
Also on the site are numerous railroad photos from around the US
and abroad, and a valuable collection of railroadiana links.
46
w orl d war one research
Three Soldiers: Not Just Names on a Plaque
Constance R. Cherba illuminates the short lives
of three young soldiers of the Great War using a
variety of online resources
T
WO BRONZE PLAQUES HANG IN THE HALLWAY OF FIRST
Congregational United Church of Christ in Dubuque, Iowa.
One lists members who served in WWI, while the other
memorializes WWII soldiers. On the WWI plaque, a star
marks the names of John S. Lewis Jr., Wilfred Lewis, and
Clemens W. Schuster – three soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice
and lost their lives during the Great War.
I’ve walked past the memorial plaques for years. However, last summer,
I began compiling the histories that various church historians have
written over the past 175 years, and when I recorded the three names of
the men who had given their all in the service of their country, I became
curious. Who were these WWI soldiers and how did they die? Let’s see
what a little Internet research can tell us about John Lewis, Wilfred
Lewis, and Clemens Schuster.
A photograph of the memorial stone shared by John S. Lewis Jr. and his
younger brother, Wilfred, in Dubuque’s Linwood Cemetery is available at
Find-a-Grave, a free, searchable database of some 138 million graves at
www.findagrave.com.
The inscription on the Lewis monument reads:
IN MEMORY OF
JOHN S. LEWIS JR.
MAJOR 87TH BATTALION C. E. F.
BORN POTOSI WISCONSIN JULY 3RD, 1874
KILLED IN ACTION
GRANDCOURT FRANCE NOVEMBER 18TH 1916
~
WILFRED LEWIS
CAPTAIN 91ST DIVISION A. E. F.
BORN IN DUBUQUE IOWA APRIL 28TH 1885
DIED IN SERVICE
BELLÉME FRANCE FEBRUARY 10TH 1919
More details can be discovered in the brothers’ obituaries, which
were printed in the local Telegraph Herald, one of many newspapers
available and searchable at the free Google News Archive found at
www.news.google.com/newspapers.
According to his obituary, Major John S. Lewis Jr. went to the Somme
Front in France in 1915 with the Canadian Grenadier Guards. He died
during German barrage fire while trying to take Regina Trench. Lewis
left Dubuque in 1894 and in 1899, moved to Montreal. He was the
editor of the Montreal Star when he left for the front.
WWI Memorial Plaque located at the First
Congregational United Church of Christ,
Dubuque, Iowa, listing the names of all
the church’s soldiers who served and the
three who died. (Author’s collection)
Lewis brothers’ memorial marker in
Linwood Cemetery, Dubuque, Iowa.
(Author’s collection)
47
w orl d w ar one res earch
The obituary of Captain Wilfred
Lewis tells us he died of pneumonia in Belleme, France, after an
illness of 10 days. He was a 1906
University of Illinois engineering
graduate. Wilfred worked in New
York and later moved to Seattle
where he became Dean of Men at
the University of Washington. He
married Miss Carrie Tripple in
1913 and had a son, John S. Lewis
III. Captain Lewis went overseas
with the 91st Division in July 1918
and served as the divisional supply
officer.
The cemetery marker for Clemens
W. Schuster is less informative –
Find-a-Grave shows only a simple
memorial stone at Dubuque’s
Center Grove Cemetery:
Clemens Schuster
1899-1918
Co. A 168th INF
Armed with this sparse information, let’s turn to the Internet for
details of the short life and early
death of young Clemens Schuster.
Starting with census reports
at fee-based www.ancestry.com,
we can reconstruct the Schuster
family. The 1900 enumeration for
Dubuque County, Iowa tells us
that teamster William, age 28, and
Verona, age 22, married in 1897.
Clemens, their only child at the
time, was born in January 1899.
The 1910 census updates the Mexican border. Later, Clemens
family and lists three additional joined an overseas unit in the Rainchildren – William, Clifford, and bow Division. The article says he
Myrtle.
wrote home often, telling of his
A simple Google search for “interesting experiences abroad”.
“Dubuque WWI Casualties” leads According to his parents, he
to a Dubuque Carnegie“appeared enthused over the
Stout Public Library 2015
opportunities of soon enMemorial Day entry on
tering the trenches”. His
Facebook. To celebrate
parents, two brothers,
the holiday, the liand a sister survived
brary posted copies
Clemens.
of their vintage cataNaturally, we want
logue cards that are
to know more about
filed in the newspaClemens’ death. A
per subject index
Google search leads
under “World War
us to a volume
I Casualties from
published in 1919
Dubuque, IA”.
and dedicated to RainOne of the index cards
bow Division soldiers
directs us to the front
who died during WWI.
page of the 5 June 1918 Photo of Clemens W. Fortunately, the free,
Telegraph Herald, so we
searchable Hathi Trust
Schuster, 18991918. (Rev. Robb’s
return to the Google
Digital
Library
at
1919
book,
The
Price
Archives to read the artiwww.hathitrust.org has a
of Our Heritage)
cle titled “Five Dubuque
copy of Rev. Winfred
Boys Killed in Action”. In this E. Robb’s The Price of Our Heritage,
account, we read that all five of the in memory of the heroic dead of the
Dubuque men, including Clemens 168th Infantry. Flipping through
Schuster, were killed in action on the pages of this online volume, we
May 27th.
can read the history of the 168th
We also discover that seventeen- Infantry, which was part of the
year-old Clemens enlisted in Rainbow Division. Also included in
the Dubuque Company National the book is a short write-up on
Guard in February 1916 and Clemens and a photo of him in
was dispatched to Des Moines, uniform.
Iowa. The Guard was sent to the
Rev. Robb accompanied the
William Schuster family in the 1910 Dubuque County, Iowa census. (Ancestry.com)
48
168th Infantry as their chaplain.
In his book, he recounted the background of the 168th, which also
reflects Clemens’ service record.
Rev. Robb wrote that the Iowa
National Guard was summoned in
June 1916 when war with Mexico
was at hand. Clemens, along with
other members of the Guard, spent
9 months protecting the U.S.
southern border.
Early in 1917, the Guard returned to Des Moines, Iowa. In
mid-August, it was announced that
the Third Iowa Infantry along with
some soldiers from the 1st and 2nd
Infantries had been selected as one
of the four regiments to be assigned
to the 42nd Rainbow Division.
The new unit would be called the
168th Infantry. Clemens was one of
just 76 men selected from the 1st
Infantry to join the Rainbow Division. In September, the troops
boarded train cars and headed for
Camp Mills in New York.
Clemens and the other soldiers of
the 168th left Camp Mills and
began their overseas voyage on 14
November 1917. Seventeen days
later, they reached Liverpool after
being chased by a submarine during the crossing. On 8 December
1917, the regiment landed in
LeHavre, France. After spending
most of the winter training, the
regiment experienced its first attack
on 5 March 1918 on the French
Lorraine Front near Badonvillier –
18 soldiers were killed and 33
wounded.
Rev. Robb recorded the tragic
events of 27 May 1918 – the day on
which Clemens died. Rev. Robb
wrote that the regiment “suffered a
severe gas attack, when over 400
men were gassed, forty-seven of
them being killed”. Clemens W.
Schuster, Private Company A, died
of gas wounds received during that
battle and was buried in Baccarat
Cemetery, Grave No. 78.
Front page of the Dubuque, Iowa Telegraph Herald newspaper from 5 June 1918 with
headlines announcing the deaths of five local soldiers. (Source Google Archives)
Another Google search leads to
an online article titled “U.S. Army
Chemical Corps Historical Studies
– Gas Warfare in World War I;
The 42nd Division Before Landreset-St. Georges Oct. 1918”. The account provides these details of the
“projector attack” against the 168th
at Village Negre on 27 May 1918:
The troops were caught asleep in
their ravine dugouts by a crash
concentration of 983 phosgene [gas]
bombs. The shoot, at 0100 hours
[1a.m.], had been preceded by a
one-hour mustard gas shelling.
Rev. Robb gathered information
on each soldier who died and wrote
notations to accompany their photographs. His brief notation on
Clemens Schuster says:
Private Schuster served on the
Mexican Border as a member of
the First Iowa Infantry. He was
transferred into the 168th Infantry
and was with them in all their
engagements prior to May 27th.
Private Schuster was a good man
both in the barracks and in the line.
Even more moving than Rev.
Robb’s words is a Critical Past
video available at www.Critical
Past.com. The Critical Past website
is easily searchable and offers “stock
footage and millions of stock photo
images, making it one of the largest
royalty-free archival footage collections in the world”. The site offers
more than 57,000 historic clips and
7 million stills – all are available for
immediate download. The videos
are expensive to buy and download,
and are used primarily by major
media outlets. However, goodquality, low-resolution previews can
be viewed for free.
A short, chilling clip depicts the
42nd Rainbow Division of the
American Expeditionary Forces
burying their dead at Baccarat,
France, following the May 27th gas
attack. In the silent, black and
white video, U.S. Army trucks
weave through the narrow streets of
Baccarat, carrying stacks of flagdraped coffins which hold the remains of soldiers who died in the
May gas attack – one of whom is
most certainly Clemens Schuster.
U.S. soldiers march alongside the
trucks as they escort their fallen
comrades to their final resting place
while French villagers look on.
The film clip then abruptly cuts
to the poignant 30 May 1918
Memorial Day service held in the
battlefield cemetery in the French
countryside outside of Baccarat.
Although there is no sound, it is
49
w orl d w ar one res earch
impossible not to feel the reverence
of the ceremony. Wooden crosses
mark rows of fresh U.S. soldiers’
graves. U.S. Army Major General
Charless T. Menoher and U.S.
Army Colonel Douglas MacArthur
of the 42nd Infantry Division along
with French Generals Dupont and
Penet march into the cemetery,
carrying large arrangements of
flowers, and stand before the
graves. The officers solemnly place
flowers on the graves. A little
French girl, dressed in her Sunday
best, and several other children also
put bouquets of flowers on the
graves. At the end of the video, an
honor guard of more than twodozen soldiers fires a salute into
the air.
Now, let’s turn back to the
Google Archives to read an 18 June
1918 Telegraph Herald account of
the memorial service the city of
Dubuque held in Washington Park
to pay tribute to Clemens Schuster
and the other soldiers who had recently perished. Rev. Father Stuart,
president of Dubuque College,
addressed the crowd of more than
1,500 who had gathered in the park
on a Sunday afternoon.
Rev. Stuart eulogized the young
men who “were born here, went to
our schools and churches, played
and rested in this park. Grown
to manhood, they began useful
lives. They were a joy to parents
and friends… The Great War
came… They gave up their young
dreams of peace and prosperity and
offered themselves in defense of
our rights and liberties”.
A year later, Rev. Robb echoed
these words in the forward of his
book:
Gloriously they fought and gloriously
they fell. In the morning of youth,
when hope and the love of life was
strong within their veins and desire
pulsated thru [sic] their being, they
heard the call of their country, they
followed the flag. They sleep in
France tonight, America’s gallant
sons, her bravest and her best,
sacrificed on the altar of the World’s
Liberty. They tell us as nothing else
can, The Price of Our Heritage.
No better or more meaningful
words can be said or written about
Clemens W. Schuster, John S.
Lewis Jr., Wilfred Lewis, and the
tens of thousands who have given
their all, not just in the Great War,
but in all the many wars waged
down through the ages. It is right
that we engrave their names on
bronze plaques and granite memorial stones. It is right that we never
forget their sacrifice.
CONSTANCE R. CHERBA is a
freelance writer from Dubuque,
Iowa. She is a frequent contributor
to Internet Genealogy.
Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. Third Edition
Eight years have passed since the first edition of
Highlights of the third edition include
Evidence Explained, the definitive guide to the citation and • QuickStart Guide
analysis of historical sources — a guide so thorough that it
• Expanded “3x3” Evidence Analysis Process Model
leaves nothing to chance. Yet advances in genealogy and
• Expanded coverage for genetic citations
history research, changes at major repositories and online
• Expanded coverage of layered citations
information providers, and the ever-evolving
Plus
electronic world have generated new citation
• Latest concepts in evidence analysis
and analysis challenges for researchers.
• Coverage of latest media and delivery systems
While countless websites now suggest ways to
• Expanded glossary
identify their offerings, few of those address the
• Handling of cached materials at Wayback
analytical needs of a researcher concerned with
Machine and elsewhere
the nature and provenance of web material,
• Privacy standards for genetic research
whose numerous incarnations and transforma• Updates in National Archives citations after
tions often affect the reliability of their content.
changes at NARA and TNG
Like the previous editions of Evidence
• Updates for major online providers after
Explained, the third edition explains citation
acquisitions and mergers
principles for both traditional and non• When to cite DOIs vs. URLs
traditional sources; includes more than 1,000
• When to cite Stable URLs vs. paths and keywords
citation models for virtually every source type; and shows
• Your 4 Basic Rules for citing websites & many other
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issues raised by users of past editions
describe and evaluate them. It contains many new citation
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evaluations of numerous contemporary materials not
included in earlier editions.
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Ste 260, Baltimore, MD 21211 • Tel: 1-800-296-6687, Web: www.genealogical.com
50
soci ety announcem ents
Upcoming Genealogical Society Events
Editor’s note: Please see the end of these listings for updated deadlines and the e-mail address for upcoming
events. Please allow at least 12 full weeks advance notice of your event to ensure inclusion in the listings.
Due to space limitations, we cannot guarantee that listings submitted will be included in a given issue.
FEBRUARY 2016
February 3-6, 2016
RootsTech 2016
RootsTech 2016 will be held in Salt Lake
City, UT at the Salt Palace Convention
Center. Highlights will include:
- Estimated 150,000+ of live-streaming
viewers on RootsTech.org
- Over 23,000 registered attendees from
49 US states and 39 countries
- Over 100 bloggers from Australia,
Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom,
and the United States
- Hosted by FamilySearch, official
sponsors included: Ancestry.com,
findmypast, MyHeritage, PeopleFinders, Family Storytelling, BYUtv,
Backblaze, Dell, Mocavo, Pictureline,
Lexmark, RootsPoint, FGS, NGS,
APG, NEHGS
- Over 200 exhibitors and vendors with
booths and displays in the Expo Hall
- Over 50 competitors for the
Innovator Showdown
- 93 percent of 2015 attendees said they
would recommend attending
RootsTech to a friend or colleague
- 91 percent of attendees were very satisfied or satisfied with the value of the
information given at RootsTech
- 80 percent of 2015 attendees plan on
attending RootsTech 2016
Your Genealogy Today and Internet Genealogy will be there. Come visit us at booths
531/533 between the Media Hub and
Cyber Café!
February 13, 2016
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
2016 Annual Pinellas Genealogy
Society Seminar
Largo Public Library
120 Central Park Drive, Largo, FL
The 2016 Annual Pinellas Genealogy
Society Seminar is co-sponsored by the
Largo Public Library. Speakers will be:
Ann Staley, Debbe Hagner, Debra Fleming and Liz Pearson. For complete details
and registration information, visit www.
flpgs.org/NMbrs/seminar/2016/Sem16.aspx.
For questions, e-mail:[email protected].
February 16, 2016
8:30 AM to 4 PM
Genealogy by the Bay Seminar at
Little Harbor Resort
611 Destiny Dr., Ruskin, FL
Plan to attend the seminar sponsored by
South Bay Genealogical Society. Featuring noted Genealogist and Lecturer, Dr.
John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. Program
topics: US Passenger Arrival Records
1820-1930s – Sources and Strategies for
Challenging Cases; Understanding
Archives – What They Are and How to
Use Them; Is Any Body There? – Tracking Ancestral Remains: Discovering Your
Ancestors’ World through Maps and
Gazetteers. Deadline for registration is
February 8, 2016, no walk-ins. Cost is
$45 for SBGS members; $50 for nonmembers. Seminar cost includes box
lunch. For complete details, flyer &
registration form, visit: www.rootsweb.
ancestry.com/~flsbgs and click on Meetings
tab; or e-mail questions to: [email protected]
Saturday, February 20, 2016
1:00 PM
"Topeka's Greatest Trial: The
Brown vs Board of Education
Story” will be presented by D.W.
Carter and made possible by the
Kansas Humanities Council
Lionel Alford Library
3447 S. Meridian, Wichita, KS
In the fall of 1950, Oliver Brown tried to
enroll his 7-year-old daughter, Linda, at
nearby Sumner Elementary, their neighborhood school, but she was refused entrance because she was African American.
This presentation tells the local story and
events leading up to Brown's involvement
in the class action lawsuit, including
direct testimony from the 1951 trial
that was first argued in downtown
Topeka. Participants will engage in a
discussion about this and other events
that eventually led to the desegregation
of public schools across the nation. For
more information, go to the events page
at www.wichitagensoc.org.
E-mail event information to:
[email protected]
Please allow at least 12 weeks advance
notice of events to be eligible for
inclusion in the calendar.
52
February 27, 2016
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Lakeview United Methodist Church
10298 W Thunderbird Blvd, Sun City, AZ
West Valley Genealogical Society & Library is excited to
announce that team presenters Rick and Pam Sayre will be the
featured speakers at the Annual Seminar. Both are Certified
Genealogists and Lecturers and are Fellows of Utah Genealogical Association. This dynamic duo will present their exclusive
"Maps, Wonderful Maps" covering everything you need to
know about using maps for family research, as well as an additional topic, "The Serial Set, American State Papers, and the
Territorial Papers" explores the foundation publications of
the United States government and how to use these documents
in an effective research plan. For more information, visit
www.azwvgs.org - click Events or Store.
APRIL 2016
April 1-2 2016
Gene-O-Rama 2016
Mark your calendars for the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario
Genealogical Society’s popular Gene-O-Rama event 1-2 April
2016. For more information, check the Ottawa Branch blog at
http://ogsottawa.blogspot.ca for updates.
April 14-16, 2016
payable to Ohio Chapter-Palam. Send to Linda Dietrich,
Treasurer, 5422 Cindy Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45239. E-mail:
[email protected].
April 28-30, 2016
Ohio Genealogical Society Conference
Great Wolf Lodge, Mason, OH
(about 25 miles north of Cincinnati, next to
Kings Island Amusement Park)
The Ohio Genealogical Society is pleased to announce that the
2016 OGS Conference will be held 28-30 April 2016. Watch for
the full program brochure soon. Pre-conference activities on
Wednesday, 27 April include two 4:00 p.m. two-hour workshops.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday events include approximately 86
lectures and several workshops scheduled every day covering
all phases of genealogical study, discussions, lineage society
inductions, a vendor hall, the OGS annual meeting, special
evening events and plenty of genealogical fellowship and fun
events. Watch for more details on the OGS website and other
social media. The conference will be held at the Great Wolf
Lodge on Interstate 71, at the Kings Island exit, about 25 miles
north of Cincinnati. Hotel guests enjoy a special room rate of
$144/night, which includes free wi-fi, free parking and a host of
other amenities. To make reservations, phone 1-866-954-9653
and use group code 1604OHIO. For more information,
check the OGS website frequently for updates: www.ogs.org/
conference2016/index.php.
37th Annual Lancaster Family
History Conference
The 37th Annual Lancaster Family History Conference will
feature a keynote address by professional genealogist Jane E.
Wilcox, host of The Forget Me Not Hour: Your Ancestors
Want Their Stories to Be Told. She will present Forget Me Not:
Opening the Doors for the Ladies in your Ancestry. The event is
sponsored by the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. For
more information, visit www.lmhs.org.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Plain City, OH
Ohio Chapter Palatines to America Spring Seminar will be held
at Der Dutchman Restaurant, 445 Jefferson Ave, US Rt 42,
Plain City, Ohio. The theme of the event is "Where, Oh Where,
Are My Ancestors From?" Our speaker will be Teresa
Steinkamp McMillin, a Board Certified Genealogist. Topics
will include: Where, Oh Where, are My Ancestors From?; So
You've Found Your Ancestor's Town of Origin - Now What?;
and Finding Henry: A Case Study Using Collaterals — Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Hanover Military Records. Fees include syllabus, seminar sessions, vendor showcase, breakfast
pastries, coffee & juice, and full buffet lunch. Member: $45;
Non-Member: $55; deadline for advance registration: 30 March
2016; after 30 March 2016, cost is $55 for Members and $65
for Non-Members. For details, please visit the website, or register at http://oh-palam.org/registernow.php. Or make your check
53
back page
These days, Distant Cousins Don't Have to be Strangers
I
HAD LUNCH A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH THREE OF MY FIFTH COUSINS,
and we marveled at how we shared blue eyes and good humor. We
shared personal details we would not likely share with strangers.
Photo of a mango tree, my newly adopted family tree. (Courtesy of author)
In reality, of course, we were strangers, given that we had never met
until we gathered around the table, and if we had passed each other on
the street the day before, we would not have recognized each other, blue
eyes notwithstanding.
What is it about common ancestry that pulls people together? Or,
perhaps the question should be: What is it about knowing about common ancestry that pulls us together?
In this case, our common ancestors were married in 1794 – 221 years
before we gathered for lunch. How long had it been since there had
been contact between our lines? Surely the siblings were in touch with
each other, and maybe the first cousins as well.
But, in southern England in the mid 1800s, how many members of
the working class had the time, the interest or the money to keep track
of cousin Dorcas?
Yet there we were, gathered for lunch under a splendid mango tree
– our family tree, I would like to think, but only because I don’t have
to care for it – chatting away as if we had known each other since 1795
or so.
Thank the Internet for making this possible. Back in the dark ages,
before the web and email and so on, we could certainly find distant
relatives, but it was a slow process. I still have all of the issues of the
annual Genealogical Research Directory, which was a cool tool that
allowed us to let others know of our interests and our addresses.
If we found a possible hit, we would send letters – snail mail, I mean
– along with self-addressed envelopes and little things called International Reply Coupons. (In theory, you could take these coupons to your
local post office and trade them for stamps. In practice, the people at the
local post office didn’t have a clue what you were talking about.)
You would pop the letter into the mail, and then you would wait. And
wait and wait. Sometimes, you would get a response.
The communication was slow and difficult, and it was hard to build
rapport with a potential relative. These days, of course, we have email
54
and chat and Skype and we can
get to know people in a matter of
minutes.
That makes it much easier, I
think, to get a free lunch under a
mango tree.
So, if we are relatives, there is a
natural bond, right? Well, not
necessarily. It takes more than
a bit of shared DNA; we need
common interest and values for a
connection to work out.
Siblings don’t always see things
the same way, and neither do
cousins. Back in my foolish youth,
I spent a couple of years working
with a second cousin, but neither
of us knew we were connected at
the time. Just as well, because we
were hardly friends.
Would things have been different had we known, when we
first met, that we shared greatgrandparents? It’s impossible to
answer that, but my guess is that
an established relationship might
have had a huge influence on our
friendship.
With my fifth cousins, we all
knew before we met that we were
related, and that we wanted to learn
more about the connection, and
about each others’ lives. It was a
fun lunch, one that will be repeated,
we hope, many more times.
And it’s all thanks to the Internet, and the ease of making contact with people anywhere in the
world.
DAVE OBEE runs
CanGenealogy.com,
a link site devoted
to Canadian
resources.
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