TUESDAY’S TIP–Genealogy Trails History Group–Dedicated To FREE Genealogy

It’s a funny thing about his hobby we have.  There is no end to it and there is always something new to discover.  Take this website that I discovered yesterday.

It’s called Genealogy Trails History Group.   Here is the statement from their home page:

“Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data for the free use of all researchers.

We started out way back in March 2000 by providing data for the state of Illinois and expanded to cover the other states in March of 2006. Since then, we've been very pleased to welcome the many new hosts who have joined our original Illinois volunteers, and to continue to bring free transcribed data to our websites.”

Many of you may know about this website, but it was new to me.  Or, maybe I’d heard about it years ago and just forgot.  

This is a website that is dedicated to FREE genealogy.  Free is good, right?  We like free. The website is run by volunteers and the information is contributed by people like you and me and added to the site. 

There is a link for all 50 states.  The information available varies greatly from state to state.

As you select the state you are taken to that page.  Within that state’s page are links to various counties, a history of the state and other important information.  What you find under the counties are links to things like:

• Biographies
• Birth Records
• Cemeteries
• Church Histories
• Death Records
• Family Bibles
• Marriage Records
• Obituaries and death notices
• Surname lists

Here are a couple of screenshots from the Michigan page.




Here is the home page for the Ohio page.



You get the idea.

I have already contacted the volunteer in Michigan to ask her how I can submit records from my family.

The more of us that contribute to this site the better.
 
Please let me know if you find any gems on this site.  Now….where was I?  Oh yeah, clicking on the state links, one by one.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SHAKY LEAVES ON ANCESTRY CAN LEAD TO NEW RECORDS

Researching is always fun to me because of the new records & information I run across all the time.

Today I opened Ancestry and there were those inevitable shaky leaves.  I’m not one who will look at each and every one of them, every time I open the website.  However, I do tend to take a “look” to see who they are highlighting.   This has proven valuable to me on many occasions.  

Today I saw a reference to one of my GILLEN clan, Sara Wilson Gillen.  I clicked on it and low and behold I found a record I had never seen before.  And, I don’t mean just a new record for this ancestor, but a new record I didn’t know existed.  Name of this record?

U.S., APPOINTMENTS OF U.S. POSTMASTERS, 1832-1971

Have you seen this group of records before?  

Sure enough, there she is on lines 2, 3 & 4.



What can this record tell us?

- the obvious – she was working as a Postmaster
- it puts her in a place & time

Of course I entered this information as an Event/Fact in my Legacy database right away.  I included the image and entered this as a source.

What I did next…

I went right back to Ancestry and looked at what other records they might have for me for Sara Wilson Gillen Friel.

I found a 1942 Ashland, Kentucky city directory which lists her as the Postmaster.



Now I will enter this city directory listing in Legacy as an Event/Fact, including the image.  And of course making sure I cite my source.

There is more on Sara Wilson Gillen Friel, and I intend to document all of it. Adding it to my Ancestry tree and my Legacy database.

I thought I would look in the Ancestry card catalog and see if I can find the U.S. Postmaster list there.  

NOTE:  I have found the card catalog to be quite evasive when it comes to giving me any results.  I’ve been using the Ancestry site now, almost daily, for over 10 years.  Sometimes what seems to me to be a certain keyword will bring up nothing.  

Example:  In the card catalog under keyword I typed in “postmasters.”  The first result I got was “no records found.”

Then I typed in the Title field “Appointment of U.S. Postmasters” and got the exact list that I have cited above in this post.  

Out of curiosity, I cleared all fields and then went back to the “keyword” field and typed in “postmasters” again.  This time the Appointment of U.S. Postmasters came right up.  I can’t figure it out.  My work around is that I just play with both the Title & Keyword fields until I get some kind of results that may be of use.

Let me know if you’ve found any new or unusual records lately.  We know there are thousands of records on various websites and we can only begin to know what a few of them are.  

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:
Following Leads on Ancestry
Millennium File on Ancestry

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

THRILLER THURSDAY–Hobart B. Stewart Murdered - 1936

HOBART B. STEWART, PRISON GUARD, MURDERED BY TWO YOUTH INMATES DURING ESCAPE ATTEMPT

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Hobart Basil “Hob” STEWART is a 3rd cousin twice removed on my maternal side of the family.  I was surprised to find this article at Genealogy Bank when I was researching his family.  Hobart was the son of Dr. Charles E. Stewart and Ida Lunsford.  He was born on 18 Sep 1896 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  I have located many articles about his murder, but so far have not located an obituary.  

Hobart married Marcella Wood, daughter of Royal H. & Matilda Wagner, on 9 Jun 1917 in Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky. Hobart & Marcella had three children, Page Albert, Charles & Phyllis Jane. 

In 1920 we find Hobart & Marcella living with their two young sons in Mingo Junction, Jefferson, Ohio.  He is working as an Engineer in, I believe, a steel factory.  The entry for the type of industry is a bit difficult to read.



On 21 Oct 1923, their young son, Page Albert, dies of meningitis at the young age of 4 years. 

DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR PAGE ALBERT STEWART

In 1926 their daughter, Phyllis Jane was born.



The family moved from Mingo Junction to Hocking, Ohio sometime between 1920 & 1930.  The 1930 census is enumerated on 6 Apr 1930  and you see that Hobart has taken a job as a Stationary Engineer at the power plant in a Boy’s Industrial School.



A SAD DAY FOR HOBART & HIS CHILDREN
On 7 Aug 1930, just 4 months after the 1930 census was taken, Marcella Wood Stewart, Hobart’s wife, died at Deaconess Hospital of a post operative embolism after a laparotomy.   Now Hobart has his son Charles, age 12 & daughter, Phyllis, age 4 to raise by himself.  What trials he and his children went through during those times we may never know.  

But, it’s about to get much worse.

On 17 Dec 1936 Hobart is killed, at work, during an escape attempt by two youth’s at the Boy’s Industrial School.

This was a very horrible and sad thing for the Stewart family.  They lost a young son, then the mother dies and now their father is murdered.  Stories like this break my heart.
 
The two youth’s who committed this crime were caught, tried and convicted.

  

In the 1940 census we find Charles, now 21 and his sister, Phyllis, now 14 yrs. old, living with their Grandmother Ida Lunsford Stewart.  Also in the house is their Uncle Mark & his wife, Myrtle. 

I haven’t taken this story any further, yet.  I need to find out what became of Charles & his sister Phyllis.  Did they marry and have children of their own?  I hope whatever they did that they were happy.  They certainly experienced a lot of tragedy when they were young.

NOTE:  Normally I wouldn’t spend this much time researching a 3rd cousin, twice removed and his wife and children.  They aren’t closely related to me and certainly aren’t blood relations.  However, sometimes you run across stories that peak your interest and you just have to follow them.  Of course, any time we research one part of the family, we never know what we will run across that will help with another part of the family.  As genealogists it isn’t always about  how close to us the person is, but about their story. 

Our ancestors were no different than we are today.  They lived and loved.  They made mistakes, they worked hard, and, they experienced the joys and sadness life brings.  

If anyone reading this is related to this Stewart family, I would really enjoy hearing from you.

I apologize for the fact that the articles are blurry when you enlarge them.  I have tried and tried to fix that issue and don't seem to be able to.  

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

SATURDAY NIGHT FUN–WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?

It’s Saturday Night, so let’s have a little fun.  This was a post from Ancestry.com a while ago.  I found it interesting and something I had not done yet. 

What is it you ask?

Counting your ancestors by generation

Here is the chart.  


Going back to our 7th Great Grandparents we have a possible 1,023 people.

Here are my numbers next to Crista Cowen’s. 



Those 4 brick walls in my family, on both sides sure do make a difference, don’t they?  Once I hit 3rd great grandparents, that’s where my trouble begins.  This means I still have LOTS of work to do.  Only 74 out of a possible 1,023!  Oh my!

How about you?  How do your numbers compare?

Off I go to try to find some leads.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright © 2014 Diane Gould Hall

SETTING GOALS, FOCUSING, ORGANIZING – HOW DO WE HANDLE THESE ISSUES?

I think one of the biggest problems I have these days is getting distracted, stuck, sidetracked or whatever you want to call it.  It frustrates me.  I’ll sit down at my desk, open up my Legacy database and then….what?  Where do I start?  Who should I work on?

Sometimes I do know what I want to work on because it’s something I left unfinished from a previous day.  But, many times recently I find myself wondering “who should I work on today.”  

Am I the only one who has this problem?

I suspect, from entries I have read on genealogy Facebook posts and in talking to other researchers, that I am not alone.  

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?  IS IT REALLY A PROBLEM?

We all have access to so much information from so many sources. 

          

• Emails telling you the latest deals from Family Tree or Genealogical.com
• Notifications on your Facebook page from genealogy sites you belong to.  Here are some of mine.  The Organized Genealogist, Technology for Genealogy, The Lawrence Register, Detroit Genealogy.
• Notifications from family & friends on Facebook that relate to your research.
• Hints on your Ancestry tree.
• Messages from someone about a Find A Grave memorial.
• Perhaps you get questions from friends or family about how to do something regarding research.
• Oh, and did I mention – creating posts for my blog?

So, how do you go about weeding through all these distractions and focusing on your research?   I’m currently trying to come up with a method.  

I suppose I could just not get online for a few days.  YIKES!  I could decide that I’ll only spend 10-15 minutes once or twice day.  Will that really work for me?  Probably not.

I admit it, I have GADD – Genealogy Attention Deficit Disorder. 

Seriously, though, I do want to focus more on my research.  I guess after having done this for 11 or 12 years (many of you have been at it much longer), it’s not the same as it was in the beginning.  What I mean is, I've already done so much, but there is a lot more to do.   I’m still having fun and completely enjoy researching.  It’s just that I guess I feel as if I need a direction.  

Maybe I should set a particular goal or goals? 

• I will work only on the Boggs family this week.
• I will exhaust all my resources for trying to break down that brick wall.
• I will go through each family beginning with my parents and make sure I have cited all sources and have all census records recorded.
• I will look at the Master Location list on Legacy and clean up misspellings, combine duplicates and purge unused locations (which the program does for you).
• I will go through my digital files for the surnames beginning with the letter ‘A’ and make sure the naming pattern is consistent.
• I will go through my digital files in the ‘pictures’ folders and crop & edit any documents that have black borders or are crooked.
• There is that pile of unscanned documents in the box under my desk.
• There are those pictures I took on my last genealogy trip that I still haven’t all been labeled.

You get the idea.  There are all sorts of things that we can do to become more focused, more organized and improve our strategies for researching.  I’ve listed a few that came to mind as I wrote this.  

In fact, this has really helped me to decide what I want to work on next.  

Aha!  Maybe making a list is another way we can focus?

We all have strategies.  What are yours?  I’d love to hear about them so they can inspire me.  

You might also like these posts.

When our folders are organized we can find what we are looking for
DIGITAL FOLDER ORGANIZING & NAMING MADE EASY.

Not the way we want our doucments to look
EASY DOCUMENT EDITING

Thanks for helping me figure out what I want to do today.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

THE REWARDS OF HELPING FRIENDS

There are lots of people in your circle of friends who could use your help.

It’s been an interesting few days for me.  You know that those of us reading blogs and sharing on genealogy Facebook pages are pretty passionate about what we do.  I don’t even think I want to call it a hobby.  Yes, it is that.  But, isn’t it so much more?

We may start out just trying to learn a little about our parents, grandparents or great grandparents, but then………….  Suddenly we want to know so much more about them, their families, their lives, their friends and on and on. 

When we mention the subject of family research or genealogy we get one of two reactions, generally speaking.  Either the rolling of the eyes and the person looking for someone else to talk to or the questions. 

This past week for me, it’s been the questions.  First it was my daughter-in-law, who is adopted.  I had talked to her mother (the woman who loved & raised her) and we had discussed the subject of me trying to learn more about the biological parents of my daughter-in-law.  Then within a week, I was given the green light from my daughter-in-law, with the caveat that I am to tell our son everything first.  She’s not sure she wants to know, but she’s curious.  Since they have a child, it would be good to know some of her biological ancestry.  I’m excited to help her with this important project.

Then, we had an insurance inspector come to the house.  Time for renewal and we live in a high fire area, so this is a regular occurrence.  As we were talking the subject of hobbies came up and I mentioned genealogy.  She was very interested and wanted to know a lot more.  How could she research her family if her mother is adopted and her grandfather is also adopted?  Certainly a challenge.  I told her she was welcome to call me any time and I’d try to help.

Then two days ago it was our neighbor who called.  Is there anyone in our area that I am friends with that doesn’t know that I am a genealogist?  Not really.  He is from South Africa.  He’s recently been reading some historical books and saw his surname mentioned in association with Capt. Cook.  That sparked his interest and he wants to know more.  He sent me the few names & dates he had (only as far back as his grandfather) and I spent two hours this morning and took him back to 1843 and his great grandfather.  He’s pretty excited to continue the search now. 

This is not the first time I’ve been approached by people who want to know how or where to begin.  I thoroughly enjoy sharing with anyone who has an interest.  Some family & friends have suggested that I begin charging people and make a business out of it.  I told them no, that wasn’t what I wanted to do.  Why?  Because it wouldn’t be fun any more, it would be work.  At least for me.  Being retired is great and I’ll just keep it that way. 

Do You scratch your head? Or do you help?

What do you do when you are asked to help someone? 

Have you had successes in your research for others?  If so, I’d love to hear about them.






Here are some of my success stories. 

• Helping a friend who wanted to know more about his ancestors arrival on Ellis Island, prior to going to visit that location. 
• This was a big one.  Helping a co-worker locate his biological parents.  All he had was a tiny bit of info and I was able to locate the family.  I’m sure a little help from above was present on that one. 
• Helping another co-worker who knew nothing about his ancestors and I got him started in the right direction.
• Helping re-unite family Bibles with the descendants of those who owned them.  This was a project done through the San Diego Genealogical Society.  Very rewarding.
• Helping a close friend locate information about her Italian grandmother.

Your friends will jump for joy when you help them out.  And it's a great feeling.

I’m sure there are more times that I’ve been privileged to assist others, but I can’t recall all of them right now.

What we do is important.  It’s not about how far back we can go or what famous people we are related to.  My two least favorite questions to be asked, by the way.  It’s about connecting with those wonderful people who’s blood runs through our veins and who’s traits we carry.  

Let’s keep going and see where the road will take us next.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

CEMETERY RECORDS–What can they tell you? How do you use them?

That's me visiting my 3rd great grandmother

One of the most informative records I have used over the years are cemetery records.

They can provide a wealth of information.  

If you’ve been doing genealogy for any length of time, then you are familiar with Find A Grave and more recently Billion Graves.  On those sites you put in a name and search for your ancestor.  Or, you enter your own memorials.  These sites are very valuable and can tell us where someone is buried, when & where they were born & died, or link that person to other family members. And sometimes, you’ll even find bio information that will give you all kinds of leads.  

However, sometimes all you find is a memorial with very little information.

HOW MANY OF YOU MAKE PHONE CALLS TO CEMETERIES?

This is something I have been doing for years and I’ve found it to be very valuable.  Let’s say I find the name of the cemetery on a death certificate, memorial on FindAGrave or somewhere else online.  

Why would I call the cemetery?

• To obtain the exact location of the grave – Lot, Section, Plot number etc.
• To ask if their records indicate the cause of death.  Many times this is indicated on a cemetery record (especially the older ones)
• To ask if their records indicate who purchased the plot or who currently owns it.
• To inquire if there are other family members buried in that cemetery.
• To ask if there is any correspondence attached to the record

Here are some records I have either received via email or obtained during a visit to various cemeteries.  The amount of information varies from place to place, but some of it is really a gold mine for a genealogist.

This card for John Doller gives us an address, date of death, age at death, cause of death, date of burial, location and the name of the funeral director

For Catherine Lindsay we get her residence, date & age at death, including months & days, cause of death, burial date, undertaker's name & grave location in the cemetery

This record was obtained from very large old cemetery books. This is my great grandmother, Bessie Lindsay

I had to photograph this large book in 3 sections.  But look at the great information in the record.  Name, funeral home, age, cause of death etc.

This page gives, the interment date & location, the name of the nearest relative and who it was that ordered the grave.  In this case it's my grandfather, H. W. Gould

  

So, what do you think?  Worth the effort to obtain cemetery information?  Absolutely!

TIPS & NOTES: 

• Cemeteries are sometimes very busy, state your name & purpose and ask if they have time to assist you.  I tend to stay away from the phrase “I’m a genealogist.”  Believe me, there are some cemetery employees who have had bad experiences with pushy researchers.  I just say that I’m trying to find burial locations for some family members.
• Often, I just get an email address & mail the my request to them.  I rarely have to wait longer than a day or two for a response.
• If someone does take the time to help you, and many will, be sure you get the name of that person.  Make a note of who you spoke to and when.
• Send a thank you card.  Yes, a real, handwritten note.  This was a tip given to me, by an experienced genealogist, when I first began researching.  I have had great results with this method.  You will often find out that other family members are in the same cemetery or one handled by the same office.  That employee will remember you if you’ve thanked them.  And guess what?  They will be more than willing to help you again.

Just sitting in front of your computer and finding records online can be very rewarding and yield great benefits.  But, at some point, we all have to begin looking elsewhere for information.  This is just one way that I have found to be very helpful over the years.

Here are a couple of related posts that you may find helpful.

Adding sibling links to FindAGrave memorials  http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/01/adding-sibling-links-to-findagrave.html

Michigan Death Records – Where to find them  http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/12/michigan-death-records-onlinewhere-can.html

Ancestry acquires FindAGrave  http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/09/ancestry.html

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

TOP 100 GENEALOGY WEBSITES FOR 2014–According to GenealogyInTime Magazine

The top 100 genealogy websites for 2014, was published by GenealogyInTime Magazine Magazine, an online magazine.  Please visit their website (by clicking on their name)for a complete list and an explanation of how they compiled their list.  

Congratulations to the 4 blogs that made it onto this list:

11.  Eastman’s Newsletter by Dick Eastman http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/

63.  Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections by John D. Reid http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/

81.  Geneabloggers by Thomas McEntee http://geneabloggers.com/

89.  Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver http://www.geneamusings.com/

And the 3 software programs on the list are:

49. Legacy

Click here to go to the Legacy website

  

      


61.  RootsMagic   http://www.rootsmagic.com/

76.  Family Tree Maker  http://www.ancestry.com/cs/apps/P-5194?o_xid=57140&o_lid=57140&o_sch=Search

Good work by all.  Check the list for your favorite sites or to find new ones.  

Here is a portion of the profile of the GenealogyInTime Magazine as posted on their website
http://www.genealogyintime.com/about-us.html

 

  About Us

GenealogyInTime Magazine is the fifth largest free genealogy website in the world (according to Alexa the internet traffic source). People like our website because we are independent and we provide valuable, honest information. We are also much more than just an online magazine. We are a genealogy platform with tools and resources to help people find their ancestors.
It also helps that we are free.
Philosophy – We have a passion for genealogy and a determination to make it better. Our mission is to help people find their ancestors.
History – We launched our magazine in November 2008.
Newsletter - We offer a free weekly newsletter. Please read 7 Reasons to Subscribe to our Newsletter.
 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

CREATING FAMILY TREES WITH VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS

SATURDAY FUN

To stay with the Surname Saturday theme.

How many surnames are in your family tree?

Yup, that's right, let's count those surnames.

I won't have to manually count mine because my Legacy database will do it for me.  Here's how.......

 First click on the "Reports" menu

If you don't have the Reports icon on your top menu you can find it on the text menu across the top of your page

             
Second - once the small window opens, click on the "Books/Other" tab and select "Surname Summary"

Next you'll see a box pop-up that is titled "Surname Summary."  Click on the "preview" box.  

NOTE:  Be sure you have selected "screen/printer" as your report destination (at the bottom).

     Once you've selected "preview," Legacy will immediately    generate a report. Mine was 18 pages long. Showing every surname, how many times the surname appears in my database and the date range for the names.

HOW COOL IS THAT?

 So, how many surnames do I have in my database?

987

Do this in your database and tell me how many you have.

Happy Counting,

Michigan Girl  

 

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - WILLIAM PENN DOCUMENT

 

 

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

Transcription of Land Document from William PENN to William FRAMTON

1684, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Definition of Amanuensis?  John Newmark who writes the Transylvanian Dutch Blog, started this Monday theme many months ago.  I want to give him credit for it, as many bloggers have now begun using this theme.  The definition given by John is this "a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

With that in mind, I have below, a picture of a document photographed by a cousin. Since we have ancestors that hail from Pennsylvania, she was looking for evidence and documents during her visit.  She located this very interesting land transaction from William PENN to our ancestor, William FRAMTON also spelled FRAMPTON. 

NOTE:  William Framton/Frampton is my 8th Great Grandfather. 

LAND TRANSACTION BETWEEN WILLIAM PENN & WILLIAM FRAMTON, 1684

Below is my first attempt at transcribing this document.  I have left blanks where I was unable to read the word or words and have highlighted in yellow words that I am unsure of.  Both my cousin Amy & my brother, John are also going to take a crack at transcribing this document.  Having more than one set of eyes will, I'm sure, give us more insight and help identify the words I have not been able to.  Between the three of us I hope we can fill in most of the blanks.

Finding documents like this can enhance your understanding your family and certainly enrich the stories behind the names.  Having a connection to William Penn, the founder of the province of Pennsylvania, and English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher and early Quaker, connects our family to a part of our countries early history. 
Here is a picture of William Penn 

To learn more about William Penn you can go to this link at Wikipedia.

So keep searching for those records and I hope you find some interesting documents.  Please let me know what you find.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl  

Copyright ©  2013   Diane Gould Hall