Follow Friday – 3 June 2016

When I run across amazing blog posts or articles, I want to share with my readers. Most of the time the articles I find may not be from just the week of my Follow Friday post, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go “back in time” to read them or perhaps find a new-to-you blog! So without further ado –

Broughton Images has two new posts from this past month (including one celebrating Memorial Day): Just Follow the Flags and Bonham Heritage Day Festival. The photographer truly captures the atmosphere and stirs emotions whether it’s photos of a Veterans Memorial surrounded by flags from each branch of military or Bonham’s courthouse on the square during the annual festival.

Becky Jamison has caught the Trello bug! She has started to use Trello to organize many items pertaining to her genealogy research. So please visit her Grace and Glory website and read what happened when she Brought Hidden Emails to Light.

And if you need something else to “spark” your creativity, visit Amy Johnson Crow’s site and read Creating Family History Videos Easily for Free using Adobe Spark. On top of that article, you’ll also want to read Amy’s suggestions for researching the new Indiana Vital records that Ancestry recently added. You can find that informative article here: Indiana Vital Records on Ancestry: Good & Bad. As I spent some time yesterday going through these records, I know of what Amy speaks!

The other day I had 28 New Ancestor Discoveries on Ancestry. Yesterday it dwindled to six. I knew why after I read Roberta Estes’ article on her DNAeXplained blog: Ancestry Refines New Ancestor Discoveries (NADs). Perhaps her explanation will help you in what has perplexed many researchers.

Do you find it difficult to organize everything you need in order to be more productive at research (whether it is for family history, work/school project, or to run a household)? Diane Haddad at the Genealogy Insider shares some tips with her article The Big Picture: Using Mind Mapping to Organize Research Ideas. See if it helps you!

These are just some of my favorite articles lately! What are you reading?

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You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling – Week 7 (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

It’s not just a line from The Righteous Brothers song – it also explains which ancestors I choose to research until the cows come home. Most are not direct ancestors but collaterals. Nieces of great-grandfathers, distant cousins of a 2nd great-grandmother, relatives of an aunt’s in-law, etc. These are people who I have found in newspapers and court documents due to a dispute – sometimes with a neighbor but most times with their spouse. Disputes that turn ugly and full of scandal. Why do I enjoy spending countless hours of research on these people? Because there is so much to find! They are fascinating, full of dramatic details, and even a little sad.

Since my paternal side hails from Coshocton, Ohio, I have found a wealth of news articles on many of those relatives. Skeletons in the closet do not make me bat an eye or shy away from digging deeper. I want to know what type of circumstances – environmental, genetic, or social – led up to whatever scandal or drama happened. Was that a turning point in that person’s life – for better or worse? Did that person ever seem to achieve happiness within their life? Are their descendants aware of these troubles?

I also love to do research to flesh out a mystery. If you’ve been following my Genealogy Mystery posts, then you are aware that I’m trying to solve a mystery for someone – related to me as my grandfather’s foster sister’s biological daughter. Broken hearts prevail in that story as well.

Unfortunately, most of us have had to live through heartbreak – in whatever form it took: the loss of a close family member due to death; watching a loved one suffer through disease or mental illness; a divorce or split in a marriage or partnership; loss of a job that caused a domino affect in everything else; a disaster such as flooding, tornado, hurricane, dust bowl or fire that created a tremendous loss and hardship; or being a victim of a crime. Stories of our ancestors and their families could possibly be our stories – human stories. What we find in researching makes our ancestors real life people – not just a name with dates of birth and death. And that is the main reason that I do this research.

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time! This week’s theme is “Love.”

(Image attribution: By Corazón.svg: User:Fibonacci derivative work: Eviatar Bach (Corazón.svg) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Find A Grave Research Tactics

Since I’ve lost quite a bit of information that I had entered in my family data program (Family Tree Maker 2011) due to the computer crash on Election Day, the thought of recreating everything I’ve lost has overwhelmed me. (Public Service Announcement: Don’t let this happen to you! Back up! Back up! Back up! And then make sure a copy is in the cloud!)

Some of that lost data was from cemetery information from Find a Grave. My plan of attack – is to begin alphabetically in the list of individuals in my data program – and search for their date of death (if I don’t already have it), cemetery location, and other pertinent information. Needless to say, two individuals in and I’ve discovered children of a couple I didn’t know existed complete with birth and death information. I always finish off by entering the Find a Grave Memorial Number in my database – then I know that I saw the record on Find a Grave.

Generally, as I locate the burial/cemetery information – especially if it’s in Ohio – I go to FamilySearch and search for a death record. Not only will that give me a second source of documentation, but sometimes it gives a burial date and perhaps a more specific death date than what is listed on Find a Grave.

(Public Domain Image downloaded from FreeStockPhotos.biz)

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Serious Research

With the spring semester of college behind me and a couple of my “volunteer” jobs winding down, I’ve been doing some serious research for the last month.  My “free” subscription to Ancestry will be ending at the end of this month, so I’m scouring it for last minute tidbits. One thing I’ve realized is that with my time short, I’m grabbing the image and the source information and will transcribe later.  That is mainly when I find the census images.  I can list occupation, residence, etc. all later.  I do make sure I’ve listed my sources – that way I have a way to look for it at another time if need be.

Some of the people I’ve located information for aren’t in my direct line, but rather collateral family members who hadn’t been located past a certain time.  Databases – besides Ancestry – that I’ve used include: Rootsweb, Familysearch, Find a Grave, and county websites. 

This week I’ve taken a break from my own line.  An older couple at my church came into the office (I work for my church) and we proceeded to talk about the husband’s father and grandfather.  They mentioned they didn’t know much about that side of the family – so there I was, offering my research services.  That afternoon after the wife sent me information she did know, I started finding census records and naturalization records.  It feels good to accomplish something.  I’m hoping to give them a report in another week.  I think taking a break from my own research will give me a fresh perspective when I get back to it.

I’ve also enjoyed reading the blogs of those who attended the Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree over the past weekend.  I wasn’t able to listen to any of the lectures that were streamed live.  The pictures I’ve seen showed many of my geneablogger “friends” having a great time – maybe too good of a time!

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Additional Research Techniques

To go along with my earlier post, Cleaning Up the Family File, I’ve done some additional searches using a wonderful resource – Marriages, Coshocton County, Ohio, 1811-1930 : compiled from marriage records, Probate Court, Coshocton County, Ohio.  This book was put together by Miriam C. Hunter for the Coshocton Public Library in 1967.  She spent most of one year searching the records in Coshocton County in order to compile this book.  I was able to access it through HeritageQuest via my local library.

Since most of my paternal ancestors lived in or near Coshocton during the time period included in the book, I spent the better part of three days carefully combing through the names comparing them to the surnames in my family file.  The time spent searching paid off as I was able to enter dates or a location (Coshocton County) that I didn’t have.

The first part of the book – Volume I – is alphabetized by male surname, then giving the bride’s name and the date of marriage.  However, if the bride had been married before, sometimes she was listed as “Mrs.” and other times not.  Volume II is alphabetized by bride surname and only gives the groom’s first initials and surname.  No date of marriage.  To find that, I had to go back to Volume I and locate the information.  It was pretty time consuming going back and forth – especially when I located several marriages for the bride under previously married names.  I had to keep searching until I found her maiden name.

One example is my grandmother’s (Ella House Amore) half-sister’s, son, Guy Irvine Conger, was married to a woman whose name I’d found awhile back. It was Ethel Ford Maple.  I had located their marriage on Page 65 of Volume I.

She was listed as Mrs. Ethel Ford Mapel.  I also knew that some of the names have been misspelled so I kept searching.  The next time her name jumped out at me was on Page 262.

So her marriage to Frank Murphy was 5 years prior to the marriage to Guy Conger – yet the entry in the book still reads Mrs. Ethel Ford Maple (this time with Maple spelled correctly).  Hmmm.  I had to go find a Maple who had married this woman in order to find out if her true maiden name really was Ford and not a previously marred name or a middle name.  So I went back to Page 220.

That’s when I located Ethel Ford who had married Samuel Maple on July 9, 1914.  If I hadn’t looked through this book carefully, I might not have discovered any of this information. 

That also solved a mystery for me as I have Maple ancestors and thought that perhaps Ethel was a Maple whose parents I hadn’t found.  Turns out she wasn’t born a Maple – she just married one!  And obviously she liked the name for she used it even after her second marriage to Frank Murphy was dissolved by divorce or his death.

Another mystery that I solved happened as I searched for the marriage of my first cousin once removed – Pauline House.  She was my grandmother’s niece (daughter of her brother).  I had many newspaper clippings that listed her as Mrs. Pauline Torjusen but I had never located her husband’s first name.  I couldn’t locate her husband’s family in any of the censuses in order to figure out who he might be.

In Volume II, page 82, I found the HOUSE entries.  There she was – Pauline Hazel House who married T.S. Torporsam. 

Talk about a misspelling!  In every other source (newspaper, family letters, etc.) it is spelled Torjusen.  That is why I didn’t see it in Volume I – because it was listed differently.  So then I had to flip back to Volume I in order to find out what this man’s name was!  On page 372 I found him – Tobias Suran.  The last name was still spelled incorrectly.

Information such as what I found by scanning this book has also helped me in locating Ohio Death Certificate information off of FamilySearch and in the censuses.  Sometimes all of that combined can lead to new names, correct ages, etc.

So I urge you to see if there is a resource such as this available in the areas you are researching – perhaps in the Genealogy area of your local library or nearest large city public library or even from the Genealogy Society.

Now – I’m off to continue my research on many of these names and family members I’ve recently discovered!

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Books for Genealogy

This is my submission for the 56th Carnival of Genealogy being hosted by Lori Thornton at Smoky Mountain Family Historian. The topic is 10 essential books in my genealogy library.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to buy a lot of the books I really should.  Some I’ve checked (& re-checked) out of the local library.  Others I’ve been able to find on Google Books.  So without further ado:

1. The Hollister Family of America.  Compiled by Lafayette Wallace Case M.D.; Chicago, Fergus Printing Company; 1886

2. The Genealogy of the Loveland Family in the United States of America from 1635 to 1892. By J.B. Loveland, Fremont, O., and George Loveland, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Vol. 1; Freemont, Ohio; I.M. Keeler and Son, printers; 1892.

3. The Risley Family History.  By Edwin H. Risley of Utica, N.Y.; The Grafton Press; Genealogical Publishers; New York; MCMIX; Copyright 1909 by Edwin H. Risley.

4. The Treat Family, A Genealogy of Trott, Tratt and Treat.  By John Harvey Treat, A.M.; Salem, Massachussets; The Salem Press Publishing & Printing Company; The Salem Press; 1893.

5. Genealogy of the Bigelow Family of America.  Gilman Bigelow Howe; Worcester, Mass.; Printed by Charles Hamilton; No. 311 Main Street; 1890.

6. Historical Sketches and Reminisces of Madison County.  John L. Forkner and Byron H. Dyson; Anderson, Ind.; 1897; from the Press of Wilson, Humphreys, & Co., Fourth St., Logansport, Ind.

7. A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Martin Oberholtzer.  By Rev. A.J. Fretz; Milton, N.J.; Press of the Evergreen News; Milton, N.J.; 1908

8. Marriages of Coshocton County, Ohio, 1811-1930.  Miriam C. Hunter; Compiled from marriage records, Probate Court, Coshocton County, Ohio; Coshocton Public Library, Coshocton, Ohio; 1967.

9. History of Coshocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881.  Compiled by N.N. Hill, Jr.; Newark, Ohio; A.A. Graham & Co., Publishers; 1881; Carlon & Hollenbeck, Printers & Binders, Indianapolis, Ind.

10. Historical Collections of Coshocton County Ohio; 1764-1876.  By William E. Hunt; Cincinnati; Robert Clarke & Co., Printers, 1876

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Status Update – Day 3

Already been pretty busy this morning.  The tasks I’ve completed this morning include:

Write! Write! Write!
Task A.  Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site.

The Post Below is my submission for that task.  I also added a New Page to my blog.

Reach Out and Perform Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
A. Comment on a new (to you) genealogy blog.

I just started reading Rainy Day Genealogy Readings the first day of the competition but today was the first day I posted a comment.

B. Join another Genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks.

Yesterday (as I posted in Day Two), I joined these  5 Blog Networks: Elyse’s Genealogy Blog, 100 Years in America, Gtownma’s Genealogy, Home Town Edition – Kratochvil & Secor” (I also confirmed the author), and Small Leaved Shamrock.

C. Invite another genealogist to join Facebook.

I sent an email to Jeanna from Roots Reading inviting her to join Facebook. (I’ve also sent invites to about 3 other bloggers on the Genea-Bloggers group to join my blog network.)

On Friday evening I completed a task for Organize Your Research. 
D. Organize at least 20 digital photos into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.

This was probably the easiest as the first photos that popped up on my ACDSee program were from my vacation in July.  They were already in the correct folder, the metadata was added automatically when I uploaded them.  I went through and labeled all of them with date the picture was taken, where it was taken, the people in the photo and how they were related, what ocassion it was, and other “fun” and historical information.  I also included the name of the photographer.

So my tallies so far:
Gold Medal in Reach Out and Peform Genealogical Acts of Kindness
Bronze Medal in Write! Write! Write! (I will be working on B. C. & D. of this event as well and hope to finish with a Diamond Medal.)
Bronze Medal in Organize Your Research (I will be working on B. E. & F. of this event and hope to finish with a Diamond Medal.)

The only category that I have not started working on is Cite Your Sources.  I have saved the information from John Wiley’s “How to Cite Your Sources” and hope to begin doing this soon. I would love to be able to cite 50 sources and achieve Platinum Medal status!

I didn’t list that I would compete in the Back Up Your Data challenge.  However I have a brand new flash drive that is just begging for data to be added to it!  Since I did not list this as a goal I would work on, I’m not sure if I would be “disqualifying” myself by competing in this category.  No matter what – I do need to back up my data a lot more than I do now!

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Google Books

I was very excited several months ago when I came across “Google Books” – especially since there are many books that you can see the Full Preview.  If there are any other search engine sites that have this feature – please alert me so I can check them out as well. 

If you type “genealogy” into the search box at Google Books, there are 49,700 hits – some are full books, others are Limited or Snippet previews.  For myself (as an example), I want to see full books so in the box next to the word “showing” – I want to use the scroll down menu to show “Full View Only”.  Then the hits are 12,300.  Still too many to look at.  I’m interested in Indiana Genealogy so I qualify by search terms to “Indiana genealogy”.  That only shows 1 item – not anything I am interested in.  Let’s take the quotes out and see what happens.  Without the quotes it returned 1032 hits.

Try it with surnames that you are researching.  When I research my HOUSE ancestors, I actually have to add a first name or I’ll get a lot of hits having to do with actually houses.  Let’s try “Lazarus House” (my 3rd great-grandfather).  I receive 53 hits with that search term.  Some of them are talking about “the” Lazarus House which seems to be a hospital or clinic.  Others are talking about the Biblical Lazarus’ home.  These hits: “New England Historical and Genealogical Register”, “Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society”, “Genealogy of the Loveland Family”, “Glastenbury for Two Hundred Years” – all mention my ancestor. 

I’ve also tried it with “Madison County History” Indiana, “Brown County” Ohio, and others.  It’s another good research tool to be used.

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