Thursday, June 25, 2015

ON THIS DAY …. IN HISTORY & IN OUR FAMILY

clip_image003
According to online information these are some of the historical moments that occurred on this date.
  • 1580 - The Book of Concord was first published. The book is a collection of doctrinal standards of the Lutheran Church.
  • 1788 - Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the 10th state of the United States.
  • 1867 - Lucien B. Smith patented the first barbed wire.
  • 1876 - Lt. Col. Custer and the 210 men of U.S. 7th Cavalry were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn in  Montana. The event is known as "Custer's Last Stand."
  • 1938 - Gaelic scholar Douglas Hyde was inaugurated as the first president of the Irish Republic.
  • 1950 - North Korea invaded South Korea initiating the Korean War.
  • 1998 - Microsoft's "Windows 98" was released to the public.
WHICH MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY WERE BORN, GOT MARRIED OR DIED ON THIS DATE?

BIRTHS
1794 – Daniel VAUGHT
1885 – Katherine “Katie” GILLEN
1943 – Suzanne DOLLER
Unknown year – Florence COCCO

MARRIAGES
1901 – Raphael HUNTER to Helena HILL

DEATHS
1875 – Mary Susan VERMILLION
1910 – Rachel SCOVELL
1921 – John THORNTON
1944 – Lt. Robert Gillen EASTON (killed in action-WWII)
1947 – Mary “Mariett” AINSWORTH

The oldest record on this date, then, is the birth of Daniel Vaught in 1794.  He is my 1st cousin 6 times removed.  The son of John Vaught & Elizabeth Martin.
 
NOTE:  I did not select this date for any particular reason.  However, it is interesting to note that the oldest record (being that of Daniel Vaught), is directly related to that German family I found records for at the Family History Library.  He is the grandson of Johann Everhard Martin & Jacobina Elizabeth Wunderlich.  You can find my post that talks about those German records here FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - Day 2 - A Red Letter Day! I have a LOT more research to do on this part of the family.
 
What happened in your family on this date?
 
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
ON THIS DATE IN OUR FAMILY - MARCH 24th
 
please contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION





Monday, June 22, 2015

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY–After you return home….then what?

curved-arrow-clip-art3_no words San diego skyline at night
You finally made that long awaited trip to the Family History Library.  You spent several days there.  You found so many books and microfilm records that you could barely record them all.
 
I use my camera to record all images from books and microfilm.  It’s faster than a portable scanner (this is my observation) and the images come out very clear.  Here is a sample.  And, please note that these images have been cropped, but they have not yet been enhanced in any way.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

You’re home.  Now what?

Once I arrive home I remove my camera card from the camera and transfer all images to my desktop computer.  I also transfer them to two portable hard drives and to Dropbox.  You cannot have too many backups.

NOTE:  During my various trips to conduct genealogy research I have developed the habit of copying all images from my camera card to my laptop each day.  That way should your camera card fail, you have a backup.  This time I even brought along one of my portable hard drives and copied them to it each evening, as well as the laptop.  I copy the images in the original order they appear on the camera card.  Then, I create folders of each day and copy the images from that day into the folder.  Sometimes I will even create folders of different locations such as states or countries.  But, the one thing I always want is the original pictures in order, uncropped and unenhanced.

I have a special digital folder on my desktop for my trips to various libraries, whether local or out of state or country.

Library folders

What I worked on today was going into each of the individual day folders and cropping the images.  I won’t be using every image I have recorded so, I don’t worry about changing the color tone or enhancing them in any way.  Right now all I want to do is crop off all that excess area.  If I decide to use the image I will make enhancements at that time.

BEFORE CROPPING
Before cropping books before cropping microfilm

AFTER CROPPING
AFTER CROPPING BOOKS AFTER CROPPING FILMS

You can clearly see that the images look much better after they are cropped.

The next step I take will be to begin going through each of these images to glean information from them and do any follow up research necessary.  This is the hard, but fun, work that must be done after a research trip.  I will record the information as proper sources and enter the images into my Legacy database.
 
NOTE:  It is very important to take a photo of the cover and/or title page of each book, BEFORE you photograph any pages.  The same thing is true of each microfilm you use.  It does us no good to have page 465 from a particular book and not know the name of that book.

How many pictures did I take during my 4 days at the FHL?  250
How does that compare to my trip back in 2011 when I was there for 5 days?    Amazingly, I took 880 photos on that first trip.  I might have gotten a little bit carried away, don’t you think?
 
DID I PROPERLY PROCESS AND USE ALL OF THOSE IMAGES FROM THE FIRST TRIP?  NO!
  
I really don’t want to make the same mistake this time.  Once we get sidetracked it’s very difficult to go back.  At least for me it is.  How about you?

I would love to hear about your research trips. 
  • How do you process the information you’ve gathered once you’ve returned home?
  • Have you ever taken a trip and then not completely utilized all the information you gathered?
  • Do you have an organized method for storing your gathered information, either digitally or physically?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
MY FIRST GENEALOGY ROAD TRIP
MY TRIP TO SCOTLAND - WHAT I DID RIGHT, WHAT I DID WRONG
ARE YOU GETTING OFF TRACK...LOSING YOUR FOCUS?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Sunday, June 21, 2015

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - What work did your Dad do to support your family?


Dad at 5 months sitting on a wicker chair_about May 1913
1913
GOULD_Harry Norman_standing in a yard holding his cat_circa 1930_cropped
Circa 1930
GOULD_Harry Norman Sr with his son Harry Norman II and Marie Lindsay Gould sitting on a lawn chair at Lake Huron_circa 1954
1954-Lake Huron, Michigan-My Dad, my brother, Norm and my grandma Marie Gould
GOULD_Norm_Marie_Diane & Norm II_on the day we left Pompano_May 1965_PomBchFlorida_cropped
May 1965 - Pompano Bch, Fla the morning we left for California - My Dad, my grandma, me and my brother, Norm

In honor of Father’s Day I thought I would talk about the jobs I remember my Dad having, in order to put food on our table and a roof over our heads.  My Mom also had occasional jobs to help with the family funds.  But, today we’ll talk about my Dad.

My Dad wasn’t one of those Dads who worked the same job for twenty or thirty years.  He kind of changed jobs a lot and did whatever work he could find.  That made things at our house, to be truthful, a little less than secure. We never had much money when I was growing up and there were many struggles because of that.


That being said.  Let’s talk about some of the jobs my Dad held beginning with the 1940 census.  My Dad was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.  We moved from there to Florida in 1957.  He was married to his first wife, Elaine, at the time of the 1940 census. He married my mother in 1949.

1940 – Statistician at the Michigan State Auditor’s Office
1952 – Truck Driver with Hess Cartage Co. in Detroit, Michigan

During the time we lived in Pompano Beach, Florida, (1957-1965) my Dad held many jobs.  These are the ones my brother and I can recall.

Milkman
Valet at a nightclub
Sanitation truck driver
Gas station attendant
Worked at White Castle hamburgers

We moved to San Diego, California in May 1965.  These are the jobs my brother and I remember, although we think there were others.

TV salesman at Montgomery Wards
Technical writer for a company that worked with aircraft contracts
Apartment Manager

My Dad managed several apartment complexes in San Diego.  He did that right up until he moved back to Detroit, in 1987, at the age of 75.

While my Dad might not have had a long career in any one field, he did what he could do to support his family.  I miss him and I loved him.

What kind of work did you Dad do?  Tell me about it in a comment or on your own blog and leave me the link so I can read it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST 
WORKDAY WEDNESDAY - What kind of work did your ancestors do?
MY DAD - Born 100 years ago today - December 31, 1012

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, June 12, 2015

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - Day 2 - A RED LETTER DAY!

I'M IN SALT LAKE CITY AT THE
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY!

Hello again.  This is my story of Day 2 here at the Family History Library.

I decided I would tackle some records that were completely foreign to me. GERMAN records.  I don't have many German roots, but what I've found so far is on my maternal line.  In doing research in Pennsylvania on my FRAMPTON, GILLEN and HUNTER lines, I came across information on the MARTIN family.  
Anna Barbara Martin (1747, Germany to 1822, Ohio) married John Frampton, Jr. in about 1780.  They are my 5th great grandparents.

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
Name:John Frampton
Gender: Male
Birth Place:or
Birth Year:1744
Spouse Name:Anna Barbara Martin
Spouse
Birth Place:Wu
Spouse Birth Year:1749
Marriage
Year:1780
Marriage State:PA
Number Pages:1

During my research at the Carlsbad Library, in San Diego County, I found a book that referenced the Martin Family and named Johann Everhard Martin as the father of Anna Barbara Martin.  And named his wife as Jacobina Elizabeth.
"Raymond Martin Bell, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Families & Records before 1800 Supplement (N.p.: n.p., n.d.), 36. Cit. Date: 29 Jun 2010; Martin, Everhard of Derry - wr Jan 13 1784 - pr Feb 20 1784 (German) wife Jacobena Elizabeth: Christopher, Barbara, Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel"

From there I located a record on the Family Search website regarding the marriage record for Johann Eberhard Martin and Jacobina Elisabetha Wunderlich. 

Deutschland, Heiraten 1558-1929 Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929
Name:   Johann Eberhard Martin
Gender:   Male
Marriage Date: 16 Feb 1745
Marriage Place: Evangelisch, Notzingen, Donaukreis, Wuerttemberg
Father:  Cunrad Martin
Spouse:Jacobina Elisabetha Wunderlich
FHL Film Number:1055846
Reference ID:   2:1R0GVFP

I go down to the second floor which has the European records here at the library and set up all my stuff.  Then I proceeded to pull that film.  I didn't know what to expect.  I don't speak German and don't really know any German words.  So, I asked for help.

TIP: The consultants are available beginning at 9 a.m.  The library isn't very busy first thing in the morning and it's a good time to avail yourself of the services of the experts.

A very nice man named Daniel helped me to decipher which were the birth, marriage and death records on the microfilm. He gave me a sheet of paper with the basic German words for things I would be looking for.

Let's get to the good part of this story.  I didn't turn that film handle more than twice and THERE IT WAS!!  OH MY GOSH!!
The 1745 marriage record of my 6th great grandparents, Johann Everhard Martin and Jacobina Elisabetha Wunderlich.

This record gives the names of both of their parents.  That's right, taking my family back one more generation. 

Here is what the image looked like as I first saw it.  Can you see the record?
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

It was the very first record on this page.  Here is close up of the record.

Here is a transcription of this record as read to me from Daniel at the library.

"1745 16 Feb - Johann Eberhard Martin who is the son of the deceased Cunrad Martin, citizen and judge in Notzingen and Jacobina Elisabetha who is the daughter of Johann Wunderlich who is a citizen and carpenter in Ludwigsburg on the Schafhof." 

Now I know Johann's father's name & profession and that he was deceased prior to 1745.  And the same with Jacobina's father, a carpenter in another city and apparently living.

I knew that this microfilm covered years from about 1650 so I decided to look for more records. OH BOY DID I FIND THEM!!

I won't go into all the details but here is a list of what I found and some images.  One record led to another and another and this is the order in which I located them.
  • Marriage of Cunrad Martin & his wife Anna on 26 Jul 1717
  • Burial of Cunrad's first wife, Margaretha, on 14 Feb 1717
  • Marriage of Cunrad & Margaretha on 15 Nov 1698(this record lists the names of Cunrad and Margaretha's father's taking us back another generation)
  • Birth of Johann Eberhard Martin on 30 Jan 1718
  • Baptism of Michael Martin, son of Jacob Martin & his wife Apollonia on 2 Mar 1669 (this turned out to be a brother of Cunrad)
  • Death record of Cunrad Martin on 25 Sep 1720
Can you believe it?  Was this a gold mine of a microfilm or what?  I am so excited to continue my research and fill in the details for all of these family members.

Here are images of some of the records mentioned above.

Death record of Cunrad's first wife Margaretha on 13 Feb 1717

Birth record for Johan Eberhard Martin in 1718

Marriage record of Cunrad Martin & Margaretha in 1697

TIP:  When I go to a library or courthouse I take a camera with me and I photograph any record I am interested in keeping, including the microfilm records. I have a Canon Powershot SX260HS.  It's a little camera, but it takes great pictures. This is the quickest method I have found when saving images.  This way they are already digitized and I will get home and crop and label them. I organize them by date. I've been doing this for many years now and find it works extremely well.  Saves a lot of time over scanning (even with a FlipPal) or copying.

I really enjoyed sharing these finds with you. I'll talk more about my FHL trip once I get home.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Thursday, June 11, 2015

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - Day 1

I'M IN SALT LAKE CITY AT THE
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY!



I've been here three days now.  I meant to write a post each day that I was here.  However, that sure didn't happen, so here is my first post about this trip to the mecca of genealogy, The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I began preparing for this trip about 6 months ago.  What steps did I take to prepare?


2.  I created a notebook in Evernote and began collecting details of the information I wanted to look for.
  • I saved links from films I wanted to look at.
  • I created links to Google books I'd located that had information.  I wanted to see the actual books if they were available.
  • I created a list of what records I needed from various locations.  Such as - New York, birth, marriages and deaths (we all know New York isn't all that easy to research online in some counties)
This is my second trip to the library.  I was fortunate to have visited for 5 days back in 2011.  I came with a close friend, who is also a genealogist.  We had a wonderful time.

I wondered if this trip would be different?  
Would I still be as excited?  Yes!
Would I be more prepared?  Yet to be determined
Would I get better results?    I'll find out once I get home

I arrived on Tuesday, June 9th at 8:30 a.m.  The first place I headed was to the 3rd floor where all the books are.  I enjoy that floor because I love to be around books.  It's a big open floor with lots of tables and seems quieter than some of the other floors.

I began by looking for records for my Pennsylvania ancestors. Some of them are long time brick walls. Surnames I looked for were Gillen and Hunter specifically.  I had no luck at all.  Then I switched to New York.  There is a large book on the left wall as you walk onto the third floor, that contains county identifier codes.  This allows you to find the books for a particular county much easier than browsing the stacks of hundreds of books for that state.  Again, no success in New York.  

I began to think that my system of preparation was not working.  I had used my notes and looked for those items I had listed.  When something isn't working for me, I will rethink my process and change what I'm doing.

I decided to open up my Legacy database and look through my tree at those ancestors I know I am having trouble with. I opened up Ancestry.com and found hints for Isaac & Sally Doten.   

Well, isn't that something.  There were FindAGrave memorials for them including headstone pictures that I did not have.  Just like the "Do Over" that is going on right now, it pays to take another look at the ancestors you have been researching, even the ones you think you have everything for.

After lunch I stayed on the 3rd floor and found some good information in books for Greenbrier County, West Virginia (originally part of Virginia, as you all know).

Since my husband is was with me for the first two days of this trip, I quit by 5 p.m. and we went out to dinner and relaxed.

Stay tuned because day 2 of my trip was an absolute bonanza.  A real success story.

Happy hunting,


Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Sunday, June 7, 2015

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Silas Gillen, Sr. - 1851-1931

Today’s obituary is for Silas Gillen, Sr.  He was the son of John Gillen & Nancy Miller, my 3rd great grand uncle & aunt.  This makes Silas my 1st cousin 4 times removed.

Transcription of obituary

GILLEN - On Monday evening, August 3, 1931, at 9 o'clock.  Silas Gillen Sr., in his 80th year, of 4403 Canal Street.  Husband of Mathilde Wenger, father of Silas Gillen, Jr., and Henry Gillen and brother of Mrs. E. Stephenson of Champagne, Ill.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the services from the P.J. McMahon & Sons Funeral Home, 4800 Canal Street, near cemeteries, at 11 o'clock Wednesday morning, August 5, 1931.  Interment at Metairie Cemetery.
Champagne, Ill., papers please copy.


Silas was born 6 Feb 1851 in Ohio.  He was the 6th of 9 children born to John & Nancy Gillen.  On 16 Jun 1885 he married Mathilde Wenger in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana.  To them were born two son, Silas Jr., and Henry C.

Silas was living in Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois in 1870.  I cannot locate him in the 1880 census.  Since he married Mathilde in 1885, he may have relocated to Louisiana between 1870 and 1885.  I next find him in the 1900 census working as a Barkeeper.





My source for the exact birth date of Silas Gillen, Sr. is the family headstone located in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana.  His death date can be found both in the obituary and on the headstone.  I have not located vital records to substantiate these sources.  Still looking. 









please contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - William V. Gould - 1859-1924

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Grace Hunter Fenner Jenkins 1874-1946

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, June 5, 2015

FRIDAY FACES FROM THE PAST - My Grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould's Photo Album

THE COVER OF MY GRANDMOTHER'S PHOTO ALBUM


My paternal grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould kept a photo album which was passed down to me from my Dad.  Here are some pages from this, over 100 year old album.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)
My Dad at four months - 1913







In the above photo are the following people: Top row left are my paternal grandparents, Harry & Marie Gould; top right is my great grandmother, Mae Thorp Gould.  Bottom left is my grandmother, Marie Gould, my great grandmother, Mae Gould and one of my great grandaunts. Bottom right is my grandmother, Marie and two unidentified children.

On some of the pages of the album you can see my grandmother's hand writing.  These pages are very precious and this photo album has been completely digitized (with a camera) and is now stored safely.

 In the photo above - upper left is my grandmother on the right.  I'm not sure of the other woman and man.  It could be one of my grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould's sisters.  Upper right is my grandmother Marie and that same unknown man.  Lower right is my great grandmother, Mae and then a photo of the Treasury Bldg. in Washington, D.C.

There are several more pages in this album and I'll post more of them at another time.  

If you have old albums like this, I'd love for you to share them with me.  Either leave me a message or share them on your own blog and let me know the link.

Happy hunting,


Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION