Category: Genealogy

Genealogy

I’m At My First Genealogy Conference!

Becky

You know when you hit a fork in the road and realize you are all in with your genealogy journey when you go to your first genealogy conference. That is where I am at present, sitting in my hotel room, typing away after my second fun-filled day going to classes.

What Have I Learned?

I have learned things from using new software (Adobe Spark), utilizing FamilySearch in tracing my British roots, how to embrace bright shiny objects, how to prepare oneself for research trips, DNA, and lastly, overseas colonial research (which is pre-1776).

Who Have I Seen?

It’s a bit intimidating at times as I walk around the hallways of the Great Wolf Lodge and see such names as Blaine Bettinger, Lisa Louise Cooke, Thomas MacEntee, The Genealogy Guys, Lisa Alzo (I have listened to so many of her webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars I wish one of her lectures didn’t always fall within one I really need… goosebumps!).

Have You Ever Thought of Going?

If so, then go!  I’ll confess it makes for a long day but you don’t have to go all in as I did, which was 3-full days.  (They had workshops on Wednesday but nothing screamed – come to this workshop! I did attend a meet and greet with many of the bigger names in attendance and it was extremely informative).

You can register for 1, 2 or 3 days here at the Ohio Genealogical Society’s Conference.  Next years is scheduled already and will be taking place up in Sandusky.

Exhibitors

Do you know how many books I’ve bought?  My husband was really surprised that they had so many books on genealogy.

I laughed.

But so many great books about research.  If only they had Pennsylvania books about Bedford or Potter county – SOLD!

But it’s not just books, it’s photo scanning, and historical societies (representing Ohio counties and ones from neighboring states).  Fun stuff like mouse pads, and archival pens and a cool clicky eraser (yes, a throwback from when I was in high school or possibly a freshman in college), t-shirts, jewelry, DNA, the list goes on.

Conclusion

I’m sure I’ll go into more detail in the next week or so, and missing my family aside, I’m so happy that I came to the OGS Conference.  It made me see how many people are out there that are just like me… lovers of genealogy and so incredibly interested in finding their people.

It has been an incredibly fun 3 days, with 1 more to go.  I have learned so much and can’t wait to up my game in my research process (which it’s so apparent what I’m doing wrong – I lack focus!).

Until next time.

 

 

Genealogy

The United States Census

Becky

One of the most powerful tools for any genealogist is census records. I still seek these out and I love all the juicy details they provide: where my ancestor lived at a specific moment in time, who was living with them, and of course an idea of their age. They are “the building blocks of your research” as noted by the National Archives.

Census

Why The Census is Done

According to www.census.gov, “the framers of the Constitution of the United States chose population to be the basis for sharing political power, not wealth or land”. So counting people every 10 years is important, it helps determine the representatives for each state and territory in the House of Representatives, “federal funds, grants, and support to states, counties, and communities” is based on “population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race, and other factors”. Businesses also use census information when deciding to “build factories, offices and stores” which helps in job creation.

Other information the census shows us, according to www.phys.org is how the U.S. has changed. It illustrates where populations have increased and decreased. For example, in the 1990 census, the highest growth was in the south and western states.

The 1790-1840 Years

When working with census records you tend to begin with 1940 and work backward. Life is fine and dandy until you hit 1840 and suddenly going every 10 years and seeing familiar names stops as it becomes 1-name (the head of household), and a bunch of hash marks in columns associated with their sex, age, and sadly, color.

These early census records do provide age approximations, economic, military, immigration and naturalization information (depending on the year) that can help point you in the direction of other supporting material to help in your family history journey.

1890 Census

The 1890 population census is no more due to a fire in the Commerce Department in January 1921. The 1890 Veteran’s Census for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, and Widows survived the fire and can be used for a relative who qualifies.

The 72 Year Rule

There is a 72-year waiting period before the release of a census after the information is collected. This is for the privacy of the people within the documents.

State Census

Did you know some states had their own census done, often on the fives?  This is such a great help as it assists in tracking your family members even more closely, finding children who may have had technical names so you have a better chance of getting it correct, or ones that may have passed away young and so they show up on an official document.

I was originally going to list all the states that have done a census, but it’s apparently easier to list those who have not: Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.

I’ve just begun to peek at other countries census records so we’ll leave foreign census for another day (if my foreign is your home, my apologies, but feel free to enlighten us in the comments below).

I have enjoyed learning about my ancestors and all the other branches by viewing names on the United States Federal and even State census. Sometimes (no, all the time) the lack of the 1890 census bugs the dickens out of me. I have a great-great-aunt, Margaret Blair, who is on the 1880 census.  It states she was born October 1879, but by the 1900 census, she would be 20. Trouble is I don’t know if poor Margaret got married (my hope) or died as I’ve not found any marriage records for her (when I peek at other user trees on Ancestry, it appears no one else has been successful either).  One day I’ll find you, Margaret, I promise.

Though I’d still like to think if our ancestors knew how wonderful these records were going to be for those of us wanting to know them, more attention to detail would have been had by all – informant, census taker, the works!

 

 

Genealogy, Maternal Side, My Family Tree

A Wonderful Surprise

Becky

A week or so ago I decided my living room had had enough and I needed to move the last of my stuff up into the attic where I planned on storing my genealogy research. Once there I decided to go through one of the boxes I’d found a few weeks before because I was surprised to find my sisters and my school photos.

But as I looked at the photos of my sister and me as we each wore the same dress in different grades with even the same barrette in our hair, it was what was underneath that made me even happier.

It all goes back to when I began doing my genealogy a couple of years ago, one of my first initial puzzles was my great-great-grandmother Mazie Lorenia Warner.  I had such a difficult time finding her in the census and things because you would be surprised how messed up the name Mazie can be in “official” documents.  Magie in one, which is at least close, Daysa in another, because that makes sense.  As I found more and more out about her the more I began creating a personality for her, as she seems like a wonderful and caring woman, especially in regard to her children.  She was always letting her children move back home when relationships didn’t work out or finding a new home for herself to let her children have the existing home to help them get started on their own.  I discovered this trend as I saved City Directory after City Directory.

The one thing all the documents didn’t provide was what Mazie looked like.

But then going through this box of photos I stumbled across pictures that must have belonged to my great grandmother.  I found a photo of Mazie and I was so incredibly happy. I literally had tears of joy, immediately calling my husband because I was so thrilled.

MazieWarnerSig

Next up is making sure I find the right products to store such treasures.  Along with the photo of Mazie was one of her mother, Orienta Gustine Warner (this had me thinking as my grandmother had it titled “Great Grandmother Warner” – it made me think Mazie because I am so used to associating maiden names with my female ancestors, and then I realized who she really meant).

OrientaGustineWarnerSig

Now I’m curious as to what other great finds are awaiting me in my boxes of photos. The ones in the header of my blog here are my relatives – the baby is my great-grandfather who was born in 1873 while the group shot is my 2 paternal great grandmothers, my beloved Grandma Blair, and my grandfather, affectionately called Pappy (he passed when I was 2).  Those 2 photos I found in a box of pictures from my Grandma Blair, and I know her niece may have an adult photo of my her dad (the baby).

I hope you are lucky enough to have such wonderful finds in your own family history quest. If you have been fortunate please share in the comments below.

Genealogy

My Trip to the Health Department

Becky

Last week I finally did something I’d wanted to do for a few months: I made a genealogical appointment at my county health department.

Have you heard of a genealogical appointment?  I hadn’t either until I was trying to find out if there was a way I could get death certificates cheaper than purchasing a certified copy for $22.  That’s fine and dandy if I needed one for legal reasons, but for genealogy, with as many as I needed for my specific county, it was going to cost me well over $400 for these death certificates and that’s money I just don’t have.

That’s where a genealogy appointment saves you money (at least where I live in Ohio).

Mine was for 9:30am last Thursday morning.  I was so excited and extremely prepared (but still forgot a few people).  I arrived and they set me up at a computer where I put in the names of my deceased ancestors and from 1964 and on (this took 5 people automatically off my list).  I wrote down their name, their date of death, and their file code/certificate number and the ladies who work there then print them out on plain white paper where they are stamped with the words “For Informational Use Only” on them and though I couldn’t keep them, I was allowed to take photos of each death certificate.  (I also did some birth certificates for my mom, her siblings, and my maternal grandparents).

Two of the five death certificates I had on my list I was able to find by searching death certificate by death certificate on FamilySearch. The one for my great-great-grandmother, Mazie Randol, I was thrilled to find as she never came up in any of the searches I’ve done anywhere.  The other, her mother, Orienta Gustine Warner, was found a little easier as I had found her information on the Ohio Death Index.

My last three I have mailed away to purchase through the Ohio History Connections, the state historical society, but my cost is now just $22.58 for all of them ($7 each plus tax). Still a better budgeting tactic when you have so many to find.

Now the blank spaces for some of my people are filled-in on my software.  It’s amazing what having all the information for a person does for peace of mind.  The individuals seem a little more complete now.  Below is an example:

Legacy-Mazie&Arthur

See how Mazie looks more complete than her first husband, Arthur? (Don’t worry, I’m gathering up names to send in with Arthur’s to get his death certificate from Pennsylvania).

Just wanted to share my money saving tip on the chance you were unaware that you can contact your local health department for this genealogical appointment.  In the state of Ohio where I live, the county health department’s can only print out death certificates for those who died in Summit County (the county where I live).  Both my grandfathers died in other counties so I’ll either have to make a trip there or contact them to see if they could scan it and send it to me or if those may be the ones I pay full price to have.  Time will tell.

It was also nice for health reasons to see what caused their death just to give me a clue as to what I may need to keep an eye on.

I am not sure if every state does death certificates this way, but it was very helpful with putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

 

 

Genealogy

Facebook Groups for Genealogy

Becky

Last weekend I learned just how helpful Facebook groups can be for your genealogical journey.

As I was “fleshing” out a branch of my tree (it’s my great-great aunt on my dad’s paternal side) I was hoping I could find more information about her father and in turn his father (as they are my direct line).

While searching on Find a Grave, I stumbled upon a grave listed in Hopewell Cemetery (Hopewell, Bedford County, Pennsylvania) where Phoebe Blair Edmonson is buried (she’s the great-great aunt in question), and the girl’s name was Phoebe Thelma Edmonson. I clicked on her name and it said she was the daughter of my great-great aunt and her husband, James Edmonson. It turns out she was born in 1905 and passed away in 1906.  Immediately I went to Ancestry and found her death certificate stating she died from broncho-pneumonia.

As I clicked on other names I came across a 3-year old boy, Marshall James Edmonson that once again stated he was the son of James and Phoebe Edmonson.

I was lucky with Phoebe Thelma as 1906 is the first year Pennsylvania required birth and death certificates. But Marshall was born in 1896 and passed away in 1899 – was there any record of his death?

I decided to go to a Facebook group I’d joined last Fall to find out.

The group is called “Old Bedford County PA Genealogy (Includes Huntingdon, Fulton, & Blair Co)”.  Here was the question I asked:

FB Post 17Mar2019

I was super lucky – within an hour I received various suggestions where to look. Someone asked for more information which is when I gave Marshall’s name, birth and death dates, and his parent’s names.  Turns out Marshall was found in a register that the county kept.  It wasn’t mandatory to report the deaths, but Marshall’s was.  The book was called “Register of Deaths 1894-1906 Vol 2, D-G by James Boor” and it had the following information listed:

Marshall

I was so thankful for this man having this book on hand and answering this question.  Within 12 hours of my post, I had received an answer.

I have found that many of the genealogy groups on Facebook have some of the kindest people in it.  They stop what they are doing and go out of their way to help you find what you are looking for and to me, it’s one of the greatest parts of genealogy.

So if you are a member of Facebook, fill in the search box with “genealogy” and see what you can find. I’m sure there is a group for the area of the world your ancestor lived or just an overall group that will help you with your search.

Good luck searching!

Genealogy

Scrapbooking

Becky

“Scrapbooking is a method of preserving, presenting, and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box or card” – Wikipedia.

 

For a few years, I was really into scrapbooking. My aunt introduced me to it one weekend when she set up a bunch of tables in her attic and had several friends and family over for a “crop”.

Never having done this before I grabbed the set my mom had ordered me off QVC and headed over with some photos (not really sure why we had these on hand, I am guessing it was something that had crossed our minds – and my mom could not resist a “Today’s Special Value”  to save her soul).

I was hooked after one time. I got up the next morning and went to the store to purchase key tools that I would need and convinced my husband it was going to be a good investment (I still have and use these items). The photos I chose were my honeymoon pictures. I figured a week’s worth of memories from Busch Gardens (Williamsburg), Myrtle Beach, and Savannah would be enough to keep me occupied for an evening,.

I had so much fun creating the pages, bringing those moments to life in a fun, whimsical way – including journaling – that allows my kids to know what was happening the first week of June in 2003 with their crazy parents.

On the next crop, I convinced my mom to go and she did the same as I did, she chose photos from a specific event (I think it was the 30th-anniversary party I threw for her and my dad) and used her set to begin her own creative journey.

My mom ended up taking her scrapbooking to a much higher level than me. She learned new techniques by taking classes from a variety of experts in the field that she discovered online. She also tried her hand at digi-scrapping which is when everything is done on the computer. She loved all sorts of concepts and took different challenges about herself, the past, everything (though her favorite topics were my kids, her only grandchildren).

My mother completed a number of layouts that pertained to genealogy/family history.  A few are posted below but more of her work can be seen on her website at Gramma’s Happy Place (she passed in late May 2018 so I have no idea how long it will stay up).

Scrapbooks have been around for a long time, not so much as their modern renditions,  but often included with photos were mementos that went along with an event – ticket stubs, hair, flowers, booklets, brochures, coins – all sorts of ephemera. These keepsakes are wonderful ways for us to learn more about our ancestors, assuming we are lucky enough to find such treasures.

My goal as I go along on my genealogical journey is to begin scrapbooking again (I’ve been blessed with all my mom’s supplies, I technically shouldn’t have to purchase anything other than glue/adhesive for years).

Do you scrapbook? Share some of your favorite pages below, it’s always a treat to see what people at their creative best.

Genealogy

A Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy: FamilySearch

Becky

If I were to begin my genealogy search again I would hope to start exactly how I did 2.5 years ago, by signing up for FamilySearch.

FamilySearch Screen Shot

Why FamilySearch?

First and foremost, it’s free!  When you have no idea how committed you are going to be for a project, free is one of the best words you can hear. And though the one huge all-encompassing tree on FamilySearch can be both pro and con, the millions of records it provides is outstanding.

One Tree: The Positives

When you are new and you put in a name and find it already on the FamilySearch tree, it’s exciting. You attach it and sometimes a whole new world is open up for you.  Even if you are unable to verify all the people right away when you are starting out, it’s EXCITING to see names that could be your relatives.

Another plus of one big tree is that if you’re stuck, it can give you a clue about who to look for in your next tier of ancestors.  We all hit that brick wall in our research, but it’s nice to get a hint of who to look for next.

Other perks of the one big tree include research that isn’t duplicated, and that a person’s research lives on after they pass.

One Tree: The Negatives

I have had my own negative experience with the “one tree”.  Someone put their relative in the middle of my family tree and I was amazed at how upset I became.  Every day when I logged into FamilySearch, there he would be, staring back at me, Andrew Sloan Blair (he really did as someone posted a photo of him that would come up on my homepage).  But Andrew wasn’t my relative, my relative is Andrew Jackson Blair who was born about 2 years before or after him (funny how this part I’ve forgotten), and I seriously doubted that my Great-Great-Grandmother, Susan Jane Foster named two of her sons Andrew in two years time.  So I was nice, I contacted the person who had inserted him onto my branch of the family tree, I even did a little research and told them who his father and mother were so the appropriate changes could be made.  They were thankful and told me it would be corrected.  A year later he was still there, so finally I deleted him from my portion of the big tree and attached him to who I had recommended the previous year.

So in not so many words, sometimes the one big tree is not the most reliable when it comes to information.  For every person who spends a great deal of time getting all their I’s dotted and T’s crossed to make sure they have the facts and nothing but the facts, you have someone who just attaches their person to whomever.

Another drawback is that people can change your correct information and replace it with something incorrect. One way to keep up with this is to put a watch on your people so that whenever anyone makes a change you are notified (there is a little star on each person to implement this feature).

Why I Like FamilySearch

No online software is going to be perfect.  Whether you use FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Ancestry, or FindMyPast (I’m sure there are some I am unaware of at this time), each of them has flaws.

FamilySearch is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints because they believe that family can be together in the after-life, so completing one’s genealogy is very important to the Mormons (more people to meet with when you pass on), which is why censuses, birth, and death records are posted on FamilySearch for free.

If you’re a beginner and you are just looking for basic information on a specific relative, like your grandparent, go to the search page.  By filling in the blanks with the first and last name, a state, a year (I love how with FamilySearch you can control the years you search between instead of +/- on so many of the others) and you are more than likely to get a hit (assuming the person is deceased, FamilySearch does not provide information for those who are still alive).

FamilySearch Search Screen Shot

Once you get more proficient you can start using the bottom right where it states “Find a Collection” and browse all their published collections.  Many files have not been indexed yet, so you can still find the information that has been digitized, but you have a dig a little more to find what you are looking for.

I have used most of the online genealogy sites at one time or another because I will often go to my library and utilize them for free.  If you are seeking a specific record, go to the FamilySearch Wiki and it will tell you where to find the information – even if the best place is a different site.

FamilySearch Screen Shot of Wiki

FamilySearch Wiki Screen Shot

For beginning your genealogical journey, FamilySearch is a great place to start.  You do have to sign up for a free account but it’s well worth it.  I don’t receive very many emails, and when I do it’s “here’s what’s new” which is nice if something added is what you are researching.

Some files (I don’t think I’ve come across any yet) can’t be opened unless you are at a Family History Center or a satellite location (often your library would be a branch).

The website also has a Help Center that can provide you with free tutorials to aid you in your genealogical adventure.

FamilySearch Help Center Screen Shot

I hope my brief overview of FamilySearch has helped you (I’m sure I could do a specific part of FamilySearch once a week for weeks).  It’s just one of many valuable tools you can use to find your ancestors. Genealogy is such a great and rewarding hobby, and with each discovered ancestor a piece of your own personal puzzle is found.