tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37810211129026342492024-03-14T10:28:18.199-05:00Lessons Learned in Genealogy ResearchSharing my experiences in my genealogy research and what I learned from them.Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-56425500120342442172011-08-07T10:48:00.000-05:002011-08-07T10:48:56.400-05:00Maps!<span><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1420311921" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">I Love Maps!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">My parents taught me how to read a road map when I was young. They would let me tell them where our next turn was on trips to my grandparents, a road they both knew very well. It was a good way to learn because I couldn't get us lost, since they knew how to get there without a map.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I love all kinds of maps--antique maps, road maps, topographic maps, informational maps and on and on...<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I use them in my research and they are helpful. One of my favorite set of maps are the maps available at the Bureau of Land Management, which you can read about in<span style="color: blue;"> </span><a href="http://lessonslearnedingenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/land-records-you-may-have-missed.html"><span style="color: blue;">"Land Records You May Have Missed."<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Robert Benjamin Ross, Jr. and Sarah Caroline Derrick<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWpiVbK1riblKRba_QDrv1Ap-9h-c_hbpkWMWtFou7Of0HgmCE8hph3ja-my0QOW6rMM-1sS9EMaBbzYLfVaTJjCPOtUn60JQQLZIwqY6Oi_QZb14g8LfhEDXSo7jmsfLfUklKzB4FuU/s1600/R.B.+%2526+Sarah+Ross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWpiVbK1riblKRba_QDrv1Ap-9h-c_hbpkWMWtFou7Of0HgmCE8hph3ja-my0QOW6rMM-1sS9EMaBbzYLfVaTJjCPOtUn60JQQLZIwqY6Oi_QZb14g8LfhEDXSo7jmsfLfUklKzB4FuU/s320/R.B.+%2526+Sarah+Ross.jpg" width="208" /></a><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></span></v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 334.6pt; margin-left: 246.75pt; margin-top: 5pt; position: absolute; width: 217.85pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-42 0 -42 21573 21600 21573 21600 0 -42 0"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:imagedata o:title="R" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></span></v:shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One set of my 2 gr-grandparents are Robert Benjamin Ross, Jr. and Sarah Caroline Derrick. Robert and Sarah were born the same year--1850. Robert, most likely in McDonald Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, since that is where his parents can be found in the 1850 census. Sarah was probably born in Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, since that is where her parents are found in the 1850 census.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you have been studying your family history you know that our ancestors moved a lot. Or at least mine did. So it is no surprise that two people born in different counties could meet and marry. But in this case, there were a couple of facts that looking at maps helped me solve quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to the Robert's family Bible, he and Sarah were married in Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. So two questions arose:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Since Sarah was most likely born in Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, was the Bible in error?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. How did these two meet and marry?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Initially my mother and I thought there might be an error in the recording of the marriage. We thought it was a little odd that Sarah was born in and married in counties with the same name, but in different states.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 236.25pt; margin-left: 199.5pt; margin-top: 5.75pt; position: absolute; width: 239.25pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-68 0 -68 21531 21600 21531 21600 0 -68 0"> <v:imagedata o:title="Ark" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">I decided to </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">look at maps of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. What I discovered was quite helpful and answered both of my questions in just the few minutes it took to find the maps and review them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW-oYdMYde2glLouKkTJv8noKHswbh9G-7xoC9pYo2g8ljS1ap3IOqiV4EINzR4irDwmaA3GH41_zmG_MELK3XHZK0RzalqNF_3K3DBG7_ldTujXE3xAhUqfQtkc6EvH6CuQMq5LXHoI/s1600/Ark.Mo+map.1879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW-oYdMYde2glLouKkTJv8noKHswbh9G-7xoC9pYo2g8ljS1ap3IOqiV4EINzR4irDwmaA3GH41_zmG_MELK3XHZK0RzalqNF_3K3DBG7_ldTujXE3xAhUqfQtkc6EvH6CuQMq5LXHoI/s1600/Ark.Mo+map.1879.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1879 Arkansas-Missouri Border</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is in central </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, while McDonald Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is in the Southwest corner of the state, bordering both </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oklahoma</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The county in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> that borders McDonald Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1OLYviJpEC6mhpr-3byZzamtnyocCiTvd8geuSobYLjmfmPD_Sc4VXkEJp2xpT_WXb9Vt0-M_PZWgA7A4zWiQMuvmQSv6b8bhKCGACvhzT501_tjOCP7wF9NhzoZThFJ0mS7X0vL4M4/s1600/mo_mcdonald_t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1OLYviJpEC6mhpr-3byZzamtnyocCiTvd8geuSobYLjmfmPD_Sc4VXkEJp2xpT_WXb9Vt0-M_PZWgA7A4zWiQMuvmQSv6b8bhKCGACvhzT501_tjOCP7wF9NhzoZThFJ0mS7X0vL4M4/s1600/mo_mcdonald_t.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2002928055"><span style="color: blue;">McDonald Co, Missouri </span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.arphax.com/ac/McDonald-County-Missouri-Biographies-History-Postcards-Photos-and-Historical-Maps-P1318C78.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">History</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This map information led me to review the 1860 and 1870 censuses to determine exactly how the two families migrated, if they did and when. It also provided me with the communities that they lived in or lived closest to.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Robert's family was in the same community from 1850 through to 1870. Sarah's family can be found in the Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> censuses from 1830 to 1860. In 1870, her family is living in Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. So the seeming "error" was not an error. They lived in counties with the same name in different states. That answers question #1.</span><br />
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<span><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=lesslearingen-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1420311921&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But how did they meet? Even though they lived in neighboring counties and young men did leave home in search of adventure, I was curious. While they married in Benton Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in February 1870, in June 1870, they are living with Robert's parents in McDonald Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Again the maps answered my question. Robert's family lived near Buffalo Creek and </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pineville</span></st1:city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McDonald</span></st1:placename><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">County</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Sarah's family lived near Sulphur Springs, Benton Co, Arkansas. The distance is a little over 5 miles. So even though they lived in different counties and different states, they may have been in the same community. I still don't know the exact story of how they met or what their courtship was like but I now know that they lived close enough together to have known each other for some time.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that maps can help me see the relationships between different locations where my ancestors lived. This can help me sort out a family puzzle.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I need to use maps as close to the time period I am researching as I can.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should keep an open mind about what my facts tell me about the family.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that county names are frequently repeated across many states. My sister-in-law contends that almost every state has a </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Washington</span></st1:placename><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">County</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Therefore, I need to be clear about what state the county is in.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that maps can be incredibly helpful in my research.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that my parents gave me a great gift when they taught me how to read a map.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Share your experiences in using maps to help you with your research.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sandra<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Author of <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Cheat Sheets</span></a></span></b><br />
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</div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-3171632931539112532011-07-26T10:44:00.000-05:002011-07-26T10:44:55.767-05:00Diadamia Hopkins Shepherd - The Clue in the Deed<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Diadamia Shepher</span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">d</span></span></strong><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">A diadem is a crown or sign of royalty. Diadamia (Hopkins) Shepherd is one of my g g grandmothers, and her origins were a bit of a mystery until I found a deed with a clue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Deeds, especially in the early </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Americas</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, should not be overlooked for in them are found many clues. A deed not only gives you the physical location of an ancestor, the names of his neighbors and witnesses who were often family and when a property is sold, but it can also give you the name of his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">David Shepherd lived in Rutland County Vermont, and like most Americans he owned property. When a man sold his property his wife was interviewed and given the opportunity say that she had no objection to the sale of the land. This was important because, as his wife, she owned 1/3 interest, or dower rights, to any property her husband owned. Her giving her approval was necessary to clear the title to the land. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">In the many land transactions of David, his wife Diadamia was interviewed and her name is recorded, so by looking at the land records I knew her first name, but nothing of her maiden name or her origins. My big clue came on one particular land sale. The deed mentions that -David and Diadamia Shepherd were selling land that she received 'as an heir of Wait Hopkins, late of </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Bennington</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Vermont</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">At first I didn't know why she was an heir, she could have been a daughter, a niece or a granddaughter of Wait Hopkins, but now I had another name, Wait Hopkins, the fact that he was deceased, and a place to look, Bennington Vermont.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wait Hopkins</span></strong></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Furthers research told me that Wait Hopkins, of </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Bennington</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Vermont</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, was one of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Ticonderoga-Ethan-Allen-Mountain/dp/B003YMMEJ6"><span style="color: blue;">Green Mountain Boys</span></a>, and was killed in the Revolutionary War. A check at the 1st Congregational Church in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Bennington</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, which would have been the church in the area at this time gave more clues. Reverend Jedediah Dewey was the 1st minister of this 1st Church in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Bennington</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. He was one of the 'Black Cloak Brigade' . These were ministers who supported the Revolution and who kept their congregations fired up with their pro-independence sermons.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">The Church has, of course, a cemetery, records of members, and records of burials and baptisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One name on the lists of members was Wait Hopkins. In these church records found the baptism of Diadamia Hopkins<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"baptized by her grandfather Reverend Jedediah Dewey at </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Bennington</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Vermont</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> on </span><st1:date day="28" month="2" year="1768"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">February 28, 1768</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">", and the names of her parents Wait Hopkins and Mindwell Dewey.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">There were many other records found in that little church among the baptisms, marriages and burials, and I found them as a result of a " clue in a deed".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><st1:personname><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Julie Hammons</span></st1:personname></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><st1:personname><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.relativebliss.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Relative Bliss</span></a></span></st1:personname><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Julie has been involved in Family History nearly all her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lived in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Arizona</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> until about two years ago. While there she regularly researched at the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Arizona</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">State</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> Archives, and the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Mesa</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Regional</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Family</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">History</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">. She also wrote a genealogy column for the <u>Verde Independent</u> and taught genealogy research classes at conferences for the </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Northern Arizona</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> Genealogy Society, the Sedona Genealogy Club and monthly classes at her local </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Family</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">History</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">She is member of The Association of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Professional Genealogists, serves on the Board of the Southern Utah Family History and Genealogy Group, where she is the newsletter editor. She also volunteers at the St. George Regional FHC where she is on the Training Team and teaches research classes. She has several genealogy related web pages and a blog </span></em><a href="http://thelostgrandmother.wordpress.com/"><em><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">The Lost Grandmother</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: small;"> which focuses on finding those women in our lines who are often elusive.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-18824079538748889372011-07-17T14:45:00.003-05:002011-08-04T06:16:19.795-05:00Their Lifestyle Was a Clue<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Charles Miller's Estate: The Clues<o:p></o:p></span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Charles Miller died in Henry Co, GA before </span><st1:date day="1" month="5" year="1837"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">1 May 1837</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. That date was when his will was proved. My sister found his will and sent it to me to help her determine what his occupation was.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">His will was straightforward, naming his children and their inheritance. What was mysterious was the inventory of his estate. Generally when I had read inventory lists from other probate records it was fairly easy to discern their occupation. Most were farmers, but you could usually tell if they planted grains or had cattle or if they were a lawyer or doctor, based on what was in their estate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">But Charles's inventory was different. He had the usual household goods--tables, chairs, dishes, beds, pots, etc. But the rest was what seemed like a hodge-podge of things. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">He owned a flax wheel and reel, 2 spinning wheels, a loom, chisels and saws, jointers and plains [planes], moulding [sic] tools, a groove plain, augers, hammers, sheep shears, 3 head of cattle, 5 head of sheep, an ox cart, a horse, ten geese, a bee gum (a beehive contained in the hollow of a tree, usually a red gum tree) and a cooper's addz (a tool for making the staves for a wooden barrel) amongst other things.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Was he a cattleman?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too few cattle.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Was he a sheepherder? ..Too few sheep.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">There were 2 spinning wheels and a loom. One spinning wheel and the loom would have been sufficient for a household, but why 2?</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps he was a cooper. He had a collection of woodworking tools and several barrels. </span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps he made the barrels for a distilling operation or for tobacco storage.</span></div></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No one category stood out to help determine an occupation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His estate had the equipment and live stock to produce beef, mutton, cowhide, wool, cloth, honey, barrels, perhaps tobacco or liquor, furniture or equipment made with wood and even though the inventory did not include pigs, he owned a sausage stuffer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He was apparently educated as he owned books and a quill.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Historical and Cultural Clues<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The variety of items in estate were a clue to his lifestyle. While a few court records indicate that Charles may have been a carpenter, in reality he, like many of his kin and neighbors, engaged in a variety of enterprises to make a living. This lifestyle was a clue to his origins. Church records indicated that he was a member of the Presbyterian Church. When these cultural clues are added to the historical facts of his arrival in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">South Carolina</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, the conclusion was easy--He was part of a group that came to be known as "Scots-Irish."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZsojYWffASNBFWTN6XHXH26P9EF80741HWPR_vVIstmbiB5gSP2lt7QbPa825kqaUrRPCox-jr3kxvClQUNQJnGVpfX42K33vQLh3a3vCXEl8LZ1ztyWWDEV0UxaB76dvqkMtN4Uk-A/s1600/Ulster.Antrim+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZsojYWffASNBFWTN6XHXH26P9EF80741HWPR_vVIstmbiB5gSP2lt7QbPa825kqaUrRPCox-jr3kxvClQUNQJnGVpfX42K33vQLh3a3vCXEl8LZ1ztyWWDEV0UxaB76dvqkMtN4Uk-A/s320/Ulster.Antrim+copy.jpg" width="305" /></a><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></span></v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 207pt; margin-left: 230.1pt; margin-top: 7.8pt; position: absolute; width: 198.05pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21564 21600 21564 21600 0 -38 0"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:imagedata o:title="Ulster" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></span></v:shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charles came with his parents and siblings on one of the infamous 5 ships of Rev William Martin. This was a Presbyterian congregation that arrived in 1772 in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">South Carolina</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> from Antrim in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Northern Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This congregation was part of a larger ethnic group in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> whose ancestors had immigrated from Lowland Scotland in the early 1600s. These Scots immigrants were part of the Ulster Plantation effort by James I of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (James Vi of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scotland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">) in 1609. James hoped that the Presbyterian Scots would provide a heavy protestant influence in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and thus put an end to the Irish Catholic conflicts with </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Originally this group called themselves "Irish." This was logical since most of their families had been in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for 150 years. Later on in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, they would become known as "Scots-Irish" or "Scotch-Irish." In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> they are known as "Ulster Scots." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Scots-Irish immigration" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Search Amazon.com for Scots-Irish immigration </span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How These Historical and Cultural Clues Solved the Mystery of Charles's Inventory<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 140.25pt; margin-left: 163.6pt; margin-top: 32.05pt; position: absolute; width: 272.9pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21527 21600 21527 21600 0 -38 0"> <v:imagedata o:title="Chester" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In reading about the Scots-Irish, I learned that they were by and large the opposite of the German farmers. The Germans were known for keeping farms that were neat and tidy. The Scots-Irish were not so tidy. Their habit was to clear a small area--enough for a rough cabin and a small garden. They did not fence their property and let their animals run untended in the woods. They frequently did not even bother to clear the stumps of the trees they felled for logs for their cabins.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They had eclectic farming operations--a few cattle, a few sheep, a few hogs, geese, etc. They made liquor, raised a little tobacco, a few vegetables, spun thread from the wool of the sheep and sold a variety of goods to make a living. They liked their leisure time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTDoR5G7v-hklBBmBr7emyXF32LdWsnN9wzvkZmhcLo9DXzCeA3D-j7PAi_XKayexhSPr7ONzUzPP8I64pC6O4cv7rFjMcY0RQUcugkkrwnI3vOmYXc0ecxwc7Gy2Hckd57004qnkwUk/s1600/Chester.Little+Rocky+Cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTDoR5G7v-hklBBmBr7emyXF32LdWsnN9wzvkZmhcLo9DXzCeA3D-j7PAi_XKayexhSPr7ONzUzPP8I64pC6O4cv7rFjMcY0RQUcugkkrwnI3vOmYXc0ecxwc7Gy2Hckd57004qnkwUk/s320/Chester.Little+Rocky+Cr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">near Bull Run, Chester Co, SC, 1825</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charles's estate inventory was typical of a Scots-Irish farmer, with lots of different means for producing an income. Like most Scots-Irish of his time, he did not focus on one product or crop, he engaged in many small operations--thus the two spinning wheels, the barrels for holding tobacco and liquor and a small number of a variety of animals. In some records he is listed as a carpenter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Knowing that Charles's family was part of the Scots-Irish immigration to America and learning that the Scots-Irish were a rowdy group that had haphazard farming methods, led my sister to look in civil and criminal court records, where we found numerous records of lawsuits and minor encounters with the law. Member's of Charles's family had sued, been sued, arrested and charged with a variety of misdemeanor crimes. While Charles, his wife and children appeared to be an upstanding citizen, many members of his family were not and in reviewing these civil and criminal court records, we were able to determine exact relationships within the family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that if you know the lifestyle of your ancestor, it can help you determine their origins and when and where they might have immigrated to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that studying the culture can lead you to look for records that will help you sort out the family.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that civil and criminal records generally state relationships of the parties involved as part of the facts collected about the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when there is an oddity in the facts surrounding your ancestor, such as the seeming odd nature of Charles' estate, that oddity should be pursued. It can lead to more information about the family.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that 14 American Presidents have Scots-Irish origins.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the Scots-Irish educated both their boys and their girls. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the Scots-Irish influenced Appalachian and Southern culture in many ways. Music, moonshine, NASCAR, hunting, fishing and deep religious conviction are important in the South because of the Scots-Irish culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you want to know more about the Scots-Irish check out these websites:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://people.virginia.edu/~mgf2j/irish.html"><span style="color: blue;">The Home Page, Mitchell Farish, Proprietor</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.libraryireland.com/ScotchIrishAmerica/Contents.php/"><span style="color: blue;">The Scotch-Irish in America</span></a>, by Henry Jones Ford (Library of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ireland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://newacquisitionmilitia.com/Scotch-Irish%20on%20the%20Frontier.htm"><span style="color: blue;">The Scotch-Irish on the American Frontier</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ulster-scots.html"><span style="color: blue;">The Scots-Irish: The Thirteenth Tribe</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=lesslearingen-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0807842591&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Recommended reading to learn more about the history and culture of the Scots-Irish.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Author of <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Cheat Sheets</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-89995968025782263022011-07-11T18:34:00.000-05:002011-07-11T18:34:25.814-05:00Family Myths: Separating Fact From Fiction<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">The Story<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Johann Heinrich Kaiser and Anna Katherine Schleicher/Sleiker immigrated to the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> when their daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Kaiser was three years old. Henri saved the money for the voyage and stored it in a box that was approximately 8" x 5" x 5" tall. The night before they were to sail, someone broke into their home and stole the box and with it the money for their passage. Henri borrowed the money the next day from a friend, they paid their passage and set sail for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Upon landing in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, they immediately left for </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Ft. Smith</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Arkansas</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> where they both lived out the rest of their lives. They are both buried in </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Ft.</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Smith</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How I Used the Story <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YgEcKuLrDt3tJNz-dvkX1DkNnbu5RGwa2H8E14WLTk9DdJYvReUHzdesVFZVqG413ujFq2AhJjCkWQw4o362cMWTFvSQbKSb7YQ8ne3KPe1RqsY8avyATIEMj5WRENp84FAvdm7eqZg/s1600/Sophie+E+Kaiser.1887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YgEcKuLrDt3tJNz-dvkX1DkNnbu5RGwa2H8E14WLTk9DdJYvReUHzdesVFZVqG413ujFq2AhJjCkWQw4o362cMWTFvSQbKSb7YQ8ne3KPe1RqsY8avyATIEMj5WRENp84FAvdm7eqZg/s320/Sophie+E+Kaiser.1887.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie Elizabeth Kaiser, age 14<br />
Confirmation, 1887</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></span></v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 279.75pt; margin-left: 233pt; margin-top: 14.4pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 197.5pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-68 0 -68 21552 21600 21552 21600 0 -68 0"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:imagedata o:title="scan 0004" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></span></v:shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">This is the story I heard dozens of times from my grandmother, my gr-aunt, my mother and my mother's cousins. So when I began researching my family history, I asked questions. The sad tale on this is that I knew my gr-grandmother, Sophia Elizabeth (Kaiser) Finney. If at 14, I had been interested in family history, I could have asked her these questions and gotten better answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Where did they live before coming to the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">What year was Sophia Elizabeth Kaiser born?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Where was Johann Heinrich "Henri" Kaiser born?</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every time I asked the questions, <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">my grandmother and her sister, my gr-aunt would get in an argument They all agreed on when their mother, Sophie Elizabeth Kaiser was born: </span><st1:date day="27" month="4" year="1873"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">27 April 1873</span></st1:date><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. But the "where" was another conversation.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Auntie Marie said that her mother was born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. My grandmother said her mother was born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> that became a part of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and my mother added to the mix by stating that her grandmother told her that she was born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. My mother also said that her grandmother [Sophie Elizabeth Kaiser] told her that she was born in the same place as her father.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I listened to all of them and drew this conclusion: that Sophie Elizabeth Kaiser and her father were born in that northern part of Germany that changed hands over time--that part that was sometimes Germany, sometimes Poland, sometimes Prussia and sometimes Russia. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I looked at maps and on lists of old German towns. I looked for Kaisers and Sleikers (because that was how my Grandmother had spelled her grandmother's name.) I could not find them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 327.75pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-top: 134.7pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 409.5pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21553 21600 21553 21600 0 -38 0"> <v:imagedata o:title="J" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my recurring searches during 2010, I began to notice that just over the border from the Poland/Prussia/Germany area into </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> the last four letters on some of the town names ended in "naja." This was important because we have Henri Kaiser's confirmation certificate. He was baptized on </span><st1:date day="22" month="3" year="1860"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">22 Mar 1860</span></st1:date><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. This document is 151 years old. At some point, it was torn and someone taped the tear--right over the name of the town where Henri was born. But that town name ended in "naja." I began to suspect I had been looking in the wrong place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-i3EhZ2Bpo53NWGUzt8PPqgcuMJ-YDFdZcKZ_5DNXi4RT0ZysqjRd-LIfR9lShti9DQFkHKldNCTz2gbXRz4IbIcdx1CmL2MLdO8xmzOUq2kkdkdW5atAWZKuko3NMguToKs3Iig7UU/s1600/J.+Kaiser+Baptism+Certificate.Sandra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-i3EhZ2Bpo53NWGUzt8PPqgcuMJ-YDFdZcKZ_5DNXi4RT0ZysqjRd-LIfR9lShti9DQFkHKldNCTz2gbXRz4IbIcdx1CmL2MLdO8xmzOUq2kkdkdW5atAWZKuko3NMguToKs3Iig7UU/s320/J.+Kaiser+Baptism+Certificate.Sandra.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johann Heinrich "Henri" Kaiser Confirmation Certificate<br />
22 March 1822, Privalnaja, Russia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just a few weeks after this, my sister happened to ask a friend of hers who is an immigrant from the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ukraine</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> if she might know the name of the town on the confirmation certificate. When she saw the certificate, her friend recognized it right away as Privalnaja. Privalnaja was the Russian name for the town, but the Germans who settled there called it Warenberg.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Johann Henri Kaiser, Anna Katherine </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Schleicher/Sleiker and Sophie Elizabeth Kaiser were all Volga Germans.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Volga Germans" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Search Amazon.com for Volga Germans</span></a></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Error: Focusing on the Story, Instead of the Documents<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If I had looked at my documents and not let the story interfere with my thinking, I might have found Privalnaja sooner and thus learned years before I did more about Henri and where he came from.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What did my documents say?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.immigrantships.net/1800/lessing18760927.html"><span style="color: blue;">SS Lessing Passenger List,</span></a> </span><st1:date day="27" month="9" year="1876"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">27 Sep 1876</span></st1:date><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Henri Kaiser--from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Henri Kaiser's Declaration of Intent--renounced allegiance to the Csar of Russia</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1900 Carroll Co, Arkansas Census Henri Kaiser--born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1900 Carroll Co, Arkansas Census-Bettie [Sophie Elizabeth] Finney--born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, both parents born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1910 Pope Co, Arkansas Census-Sophie E. Finney--born in Russ-German, both parents born in Russ-German</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1920 Garfield Co, Oklahoma Census-Sophie E. Finney--born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1920 Major Co, Oklahoma Census-Myrtle [daughter of Bettie] Hammons, mother born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1930 Major Co, Oklahoma Census-Sophie E. Finney--born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, both parents born in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had 6 documents stating that the Kaisers came from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. I had 2 documents stating that they came from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Germany</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Both of the latter 2 documents are censuses and the information could have been provided by anyone--even a neighbor.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of the first 6, 4 are also census records and the information could have been provided by anyone. But the first two both say "</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">." These are also the documents closest to the time they immigrated, which are generally more accurate than information provided over time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instead of following the actual facts/data that I had, I made an assumption about what "</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">" meant on all of these documents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Family stories are important. Most of the time they have some truth to them. But they are clues to our research. They should not drive our research in a quest to "prove" them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that family stories contain "kernels of truth," but are also subject to years of misinterpretation. Remember playing the "Gossip Game" when you were a kid. It's like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should follow the documents first, then add in the family story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the old joke was true--the one about the quarter. A man was under a street light looking for a quarter and a policeman stopped to ask him what he was doing. He replied, "I'm looking for a quarter." So the policeman began to help him look. After a while, the policeman said, "Are you sure you lost it here?" And the man replied, "No. I lost it over there, but the light is better here."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes we think the "light is better" in the stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">If you have Volga German ancestors check out these websites:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/index.cfm"><span style="color: blue;">The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/"><span style="color: blue;">Germans From Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.volga-germans.com/sitemap.htm"><span style="color: blue;">Volga Germans.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">There are also several Germans from Russia Societies:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.grhs.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Germans from Russia Heritage Society</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.sggee.org/"><span style="color: blue;">The Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE)</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.ahsgr.org/"><span style="color: blue;">American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra<o:p></o:p></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Author of <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Cheat Sheets</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-40360779953529933282011-07-03T08:43:00.000-05:002011-07-03T08:43:44.391-05:00Back to School Shopping<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">I Look Forward to the Back to School Sales<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Late summer and the fall bring the "Back to School" ads and those sales offer a host of items I can't get any other time of the year. I love office supplies (it is officially an addiction.) And the fall ads allow me to shop for most of the supplies I will need for the year.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Shopping Lists<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is my usual shopping list:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pens--archival safe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pencils, Pencil lead & erasers--I prefer mechanical pencils</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notebook paper--to sketch out ideas and to make lists I don't need to save.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Printer paper--archival quality for printing out documents</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Post-it notes and flags--for temporary bookmarks</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paper clips</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Staples</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Printer ink</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tape--archival safe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Labeling tape</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Glue--archival safe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Correction tape or fluid</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sheet Protectors</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Photo pages</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blank CDs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blank DVDs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Batteries</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3-ring Binders</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">File Folders</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Things I check out to see what the gadget deals are:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Laptops</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Desktop computer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Computer Monitors</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></span></v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 111pt; left: 0px; margin-left: 250.65pt; margin-top: 4.3pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 176.1pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-40 0 -40 21537 21600 21537 21600 0 -40 0"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:imagedata o:title="flash drive" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></span></v:shape><st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USB</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> drives (flash drives, thumb drives, whatever you want to call them)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Memory Cards that fit my camera</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cameras--still & video</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">External hard drives</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Briefcases</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Zippered Binders<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-DeLZJCjEGUy7ZTQsjo_wP2sD0OCOHk1z57mVefn0BY7b14M_7TPUU4alVYetI-wNhoc01eiiSZ5bSkIFcgca6tTwNgoVcjsws-GN7dOX4xExy8MCjVwg7NEbMc_cZ8-qiQhPJnW88Q/s1600/flash+drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-DeLZJCjEGUy7ZTQsjo_wP2sD0OCOHk1z57mVefn0BY7b14M_7TPUU4alVYetI-wNhoc01eiiSZ5bSkIFcgca6tTwNgoVcjsws-GN7dOX4xExy8MCjVwg7NEbMc_cZ8-qiQhPJnW88Q/s320/flash+drive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why Do I Need All This Stuff?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First: I am addicted to office supplies. I admit it. At the same time, I want to be sure I have what I need for my research and in the fall office supply items are at their best prices.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second: I can find things I can't find any other time of the year, such as pencil cases. While you can get a pencil case anytime of the year, during the back to school sales, there is a better selection of styles, colors and materials. There are more choices of binders, briefcases and totes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Third: I like to stay current with the technology. Many companies debut or feature new technologies during the back to school sales. I don't buy every year, but I can keep track of pricing and advances. My rule of thumb is to purchase a new desktop computer every 4-5 years. After that long, a computer is usually far behind the latest technologies and parts are starting to wear out. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also want to know what the latest items are for cameras, </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USB</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> flash drives, digital audio recorders, and external hard drives. I keep track of the pricing on these items so that when I am ready to purchase I will know what the best deal and the best technology at the time is. My motto is: "Get the most advanced technology that you can for the dollars you have to spend."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How Does This All Apply to Genealogy Research?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How I use these items makes my research more organized. By being more organized and having things ready to go, I can spend more time researching and less time running to the store to buy a new archival safe pen because the one I owned ran out off ink.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I go to the library or take a road trip, I have "<a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">tool kits</span></a>" that I carry with me so I have everything I need and I don't have to go shopping for a pad of paper for notes or a shovel for the cemetery. [And no, I am not digging up my ancestors, but I may have to move the dirt that has covered up their headstone.]<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 205.5pt; margin-left: 163.1pt; margin-top: 7.55pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 274.15pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21550 21600 21550 21600 0 -38 0"> <v:imagedata o:title="office supplies 2" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have an "office kit." It is a pencil case that holds a pen, a mechanical pencil, lead and erasers, a drawing compass, a protractor, a 6" ruler, a couple of highlighters, a small pad of post-it notes, a single hole hole punch, a small package of paper clips, a magnifying glass, a small pack of post-it flags, a pair of kindergarten scissors, a pocket size stapler, a staple puller and a small box of staples. I even have a miniature copy holder in this "office supply kit in a pencil case."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rxmzf5DwnuaxRZyJ-fbtvO2UszokITgurUkeQ8ooY3eR0ju8xYL6sE0xrEF2ZY-MSjnUe09K-AjekPCeQLivLhPA-iVSNTcN5RYOtEPbQfgT0F0uY2D-c6Olxs-HOzVSBTI9rBCbK6Q/s1600/office+supplies+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rxmzf5DwnuaxRZyJ-fbtvO2UszokITgurUkeQ8ooY3eR0ju8xYL6sE0xrEF2ZY-MSjnUe09K-AjekPCeQLivLhPA-iVSNTcN5RYOtEPbQfgT0F0uY2D-c6Olxs-HOzVSBTI9rBCbK6Q/s320/office+supplies+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I use a 3-ring zippered binder to carry a notepad, larger post-it notes, blank CDs, CDs with my gedcom on it, business cards, a 12-inch ruler and blank forms. I can give away a copy of my gedcom on a CD if I meet a fellow researcher interested in my tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also carry a </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USB</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> drive with my genealogy software and my tree on it. I have an empty one to store digital images that I may collect. I can also get a copy of someone else's gedcom. This is a strategy I always use at a family reunion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Want to know more about all of the kits I use, <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">click here</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that if I have these kits always ready to go, I know I will have all the supplies I need to complete my research wherever I am.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that since genealogy research can be costly, I can save some dollars by shopping for supplies once a year. In that way, I may only have to buy a few items during the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that by having all of the supplies I need and my kits ready to go, I can spend my research trip time researching, rather than shopping.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh, and it feeds my desire for shopping for office supplies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Share your strategies for having everything you need on your genealogy research trips.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you are new to genealogy or experienced, check out these </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tutorials</span></a>.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra<o:p></o:p></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Author of <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Cheat Sheets</span></a></span></b>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-25779001162075499362011-06-24T09:55:00.000-05:002011-06-24T09:55:28.183-05:00Probate Records Often Tell a Different Story<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">A Lost Generation and Family Line<o:p></o:p></span> <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Early on in my research I simply accepted census records as accurate. I made the assumption that all "families" listed consisted of spouses and their children, unless the census designated a different relationship to <a href="http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1930InstructionstoEnumerators.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">the head of the household</span></a>. Many years later, I discovered that those assumptions can cause you to misinterpret a census record and in consequence a whole family. In this instance a generation was lost and the search for a family line.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">This is the Story of Abel Lewis<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">In the early days of my research I did what I think most of us do when we are "newbies." We assume that the census is correct and that the family listed is a father, mother and children. And generally that is correct. But I have learned that we should always check other sources to be sure we know what we are talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">You know the excitement of finding a new generation in the census. How you rush to add this new set of ancestors to your charts and your family tree. I did that. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I knew my 2gr-grandmother was Martha Jane Lewis, wife of Jeremiah Castleberry. My grandmother and her cousins knew their grandparents. My grandmother grew up in the house with them and she related those stories. She was almost 15 when Martha died. But she never talked about Martha's family. She had Lewis cousins. She showed us pictures. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">One of my early research efforts was to look for Martha's parents. I knew that she was from Coosa Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. She and Jeremiah married there, so it was the logical place to look for her parents, as most young women married in the county they lived in. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sure enough, I found her in the 1850 census with her parents Abel and Elizabeth Lewis. The family looked like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Abel Lewis, 35</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Elizabeth</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">,38</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Daniel Lewis, 14</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">John Lewis, 12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Martha Lewis, 10</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">William Lewis, 7</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Columbus</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> Lewis, 5</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Andrew Lewis, 2<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">So I jumped right over to the 1860 census and there was the family again. By this time, Daniel, John and Martha had all married and had families of their own. Daniel had 2 children, John had no children and Martha had 2 children. Daniel, John Martha and Abel were on two consecutive pages of the census, so I was sure this was the family I was looking for.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Abel and Elizabeth's family looked like this in 1860:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Abel Lewis, 45</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Elizabeth</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, 45</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">William, 16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Columbus</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> W., 14</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Andrew C., 11</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Mary, 9</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Amanda, 7</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Lovedy, 5</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">William Knight, 21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPofYtt8gExwvp276ogWMdDnizfOWNDNKppspjiw0QygyVs48bV80way2gZN0LgEP7BPnIAm6WDg9VaNTxyVqjBvcFciEV_Oj5TIuaxRdBgQppZVtWH-d9vaJfA8ATvSypSRPLb918CM/s1600/A.Lewis.1860+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPofYtt8gExwvp276ogWMdDnizfOWNDNKppspjiw0QygyVs48bV80way2gZN0LgEP7BPnIAm6WDg9VaNTxyVqjBvcFciEV_Oj5TIuaxRdBgQppZVtWH-d9vaJfA8ATvSypSRPLb918CM/s400/A.Lewis.1860+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1860 US Federal Census, Coosa Co, AL, pg. 75.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I dutifully recorded the additional children: Mary, Amanda & Lovedy. That was in the 1980s. I was happy with my results and moved on to other ancestors.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">When I began my internet searches, I found that all researchers of Abel Lewis had the same information I had, so I felt that I was correct in my records and continued on with ancestors who were more challenging.<o:p></o:p></span></div><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" strokecolor="#235357" stroked="t" strokeweight="2.25pt" style="height: 201pt; margin-left: 9pt; margin-top: -384pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 6in; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-150 -242 -150 21761 21712 21761 21712 -242 -150 -242"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <v:imagedata o:title="A" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></span></v:shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">And Then the Probate Records Came Into Play<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">In 2005, I decided that I should verify all my Castleberry & related lines information. I ordered microfilm from my local family history center. In 2006, my sister & I took a trip to Coosa Co, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> and looked at court records. Since I knew I had access to the microfilm through the family history center, we only looked at criminal court records since they hadn't been microfilmed [That's another story.]. When I returned, I continued to order and review film. There was a lot to look at since my ancestors lived in Coosa Co from the 1830s to 1901.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">As I looked at probate records I found Abel Lewis's probate. There were 47 pages of records covering the period from 1863 to 1872. As I was reading the pages, I was shocked to discover that for over 25 years, I had been wrong about the members of Abel and Elizabeth's family. And so was everyone else. I felt as though I might be the only descendant who had actually read Abel's probate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Twice in the probate records, it stated that Lovedy Lewis was the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">granddaughter of Abel Lewis and the daughter of his son Daniel.</b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Following are excerpts from my transcriptions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Coosa Co Probate, Vol 9, pg. 721:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-transform: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">...according to Law; and the said J.F. Hurst, Esqr heretofore appointed <u>Guardian ad Liten</u> ...[for] Loveda Lewis ... GrandDaughter of said decedant [sic] & daughter ... of Daniel Lewis deceased____ minor heirs...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Coosa Co Probate, Vol 10, pg 165:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-transform: none;">...and the following minors Laveda Lewis daughter of</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;"> D</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-transform: none;">aniel Lewis decd...</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7kfiBTVMfvWeuQSsdVqNRQfrq1lCdtLOwEBfzEGx9P5iC58L9HlPH7ImtP97non3vt6ux8Yk5H56-aPI1SaH1iT4AtnqxWx3ieNpKP9FWCDZPHP8yagfeJBIbeBOPcCVdbecKcOmhcQ/s1600/A.Lewis.Probate+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7kfiBTVMfvWeuQSsdVqNRQfrq1lCdtLOwEBfzEGx9P5iC58L9HlPH7ImtP97non3vt6ux8Yk5H56-aPI1SaH1iT4AtnqxWx3ieNpKP9FWCDZPHP8yagfeJBIbeBOPcCVdbecKcOmhcQ/s400/A.Lewis.Probate+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Abel Lewis Probate, Coosa Co, Probate, Vol. 9, pg. 721 & Vol 10, pg. 165</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Rockford, Coosa Co, Alabama</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" strokecolor="#235357" stroked="t" strokeweight="2.25pt" style="height: 394.5pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 6in; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-150 -123 -150 21641 21712 21641 21712 -123 -150 -123"> <v:imagedata o:title="A" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">So I checked the 1860 census records again and Daniel's family was listed as this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Daniel Lewis, 22</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Martha E, 27</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Mary J, 3</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Minerva, 1</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">So the questions became:</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">How did I make this error?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Why did Lovedy not live with her father?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">What happened to Daniel?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><span></span><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=lesslearingen-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0375703837&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span>I'll start with question # 3. It's the easiest. Daniel was one of the 600,000 casualties of the Civil War. He died of pneumonia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Question # 2 continues to be a mystery. What is most likely true is that Martha E. was not Lovedy's mother or Lovedy would have been living in Daniel's home. Not the only scenario, but the most likely. For a quick synopsis on this issue:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">There is no record of another marriage for Daniel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I haven't determined if there was a paternity suit against Daniel, if it is assumed that Lovedy was born out of wedlock. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I have no clues, as yet, who Lovedy's mother was.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Question # 1 is the most distressing for me. I can plead "I was a newbie," but that is a pitiful excuse, since I never questioned the relationship even after I knew that census records can be misinterpreted. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I followed the logic of "what is normal." I never questioned that a 40 year old woman was still having children. After all, if you look at the age pattern of the children in Abel's household they are all 2-3 years apart in age, following the "norm" of one child every 2-3 years. Add to that the "norm" that a woman could have children after 40, especially if she has been consistently bearing children up to that age. And all of these children lived in Abel's household. So therefore, they should all be his children, right? And there was the flaw in my thinking. Not taking into account that while everything looked normal and right, it might not be and therefore, I should verify the relationships through other documents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">1. I learned that I should only read the data that is recorded in the census. The data in the census only states the answers to the questions that were asked at the time and in 1850 and 1860 censuses relationship to the head of the household was not one of the questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">2. I learned that if I only have census information, I should not assume the relationships of the individuals in the household.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">3. I learned that I should always look for corroborating evidence for any document I find.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">4. I learned to always view census information with some skepticism knowing that I need to verify the information.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">5. I learned that with only census data, I should state in my records that the relationships are unverified. The only true fact is that they live in that household.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">6. I learned that just because other researchers all have the same information doesn't make it the correct information. I should always proceed as if there was information yet to be discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra<o:p></o:p></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Author of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Cheat Sheets</span></a></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Share your stories of census records that might have led you astray in your research.</i></b></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=lesslearingen-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1420314637&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><strong><em></em></strong></span></div><strong><em><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
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</div></em></strong></i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><strong><em></em></strong></span>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-41994261328156501212011-06-18T15:24:00.000-05:002011-07-03T08:48:02.833-05:00History Can Provide Your Answers<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">"GTT"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">As a native Texan, I know what this means. I grew up hearing about it and it was part of my 7th grade Texas History class. But I had never seen it in a written record until I went to Coosa Co, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> to research my ancestor, Jeremiah Castleberry.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">For those of you who may not know, "GTT" meant "Gone to </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">." I am familiar with this term, but decided to conduct a search on it anyway.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Texas-History-Lone-State/dp/0195138422" id="_x0000_s1026" o:button="t" style="height: 197.25pt; margin-left: 245.25pt; margin-top: 4.05pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 197.25pt; z-index: -4;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-72 0 -72 21528 21600 21528 21600 0 -72 0"><fill o:detectmouseclick="t"></fill><imagedata o:title="gtt" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Randolph B. Campbell in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Texas-History-Lone-State/dp/0195138430?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Gone To Texas</span></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Texas-History-Lone-State/dp/0195138422"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0195138430" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></a> </span></i>states:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 45pt 0pt 27pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">"Gone to </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana;">." These three words--often abbreviated "GTT" on the doors of abandoned homesteads across the southeastern </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">United States</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> during the 1830s and 1840s--provide a key to the story of </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> from prehistoric times to the beginning of the twenty-first century.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The </span><a href="http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">Online Handbook of Texas</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> says this about GTT:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 45pt 0pt 27pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">GTT</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">. The initials GTT ("Gone to Texas") came into use in the first half of the nineteenth century, when Texas had the reputation for producing and harboring outlaws. The letters were often chalked on the doors of houses in the Southern states to tell where the occupants had gone, but the exact date at which they came to be a synonym for "at outs with the law" is not known. <a href="http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fol05"><span style="color: blue;">Frederick Law Olmsted</span></a>, in his <em><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Journey-through-Texas-Saddle-Trip-Southwestern/dp/0803286201?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Journey Through Texas</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0803286201" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></em> (1857), says that residents of other states appended the initials to the name of every rascal who skipped out, and that in Texas many newcomers were suspected of having left home for some "discreditable reason." In 1884 Thomas Hughes, in the preface of his book <em><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">G.T.T.</span></em>, observed, "When we want to say that it is all up with some fellow, we just say, `G.T.T.' as you'd say, `gone to the devil, or `gone to the dogs.'"</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I knew that "GTT" was painted on the side of buildings and written in books and that it usually meant a hasty exit. What I didn't know was that it stemmed from two different sets of events.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The First "GTT" Migration</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">One was the Panic of 1819. This was the first serious economic downturn that the </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">United States</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> had ever experienced. In 1820 Congress passed the Land Act of 1820, changing the rules for acquiring land. About the same time, the Mexican government offered free land in </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. The Spanish had been unsuccessful in getting large settlements in </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> for a variety of reasons, so free land was offered to "Anglo" settlers from </span><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Europe</span></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> and the </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">United States</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. It was a perfect match. </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Mexico</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> needed settlers and US citizens needed new land and a place to start over during the economic recession in the </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">US</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. So they migrated to </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, leaving the letters "GTT" on their barns and houses so their friends and relatives would know where they had gone. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From 1821 to 1830, approximately 10,000 settlers migrated into </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Second "GTT" Migration</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second set of events that created mass migration to </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> was the Civil War and the difficulties imposed on Southerners during Reconstruction. With culture and economy of the culture crushed at the end of the Civil War and during Reconstruction, many people from the </span><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Deep South</span></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, especially </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><country-region><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Georgia</span></place></country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mississippi</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> left the South. Their primary points of destination were </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Three things had happened to make </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> attractive to those needing a new start. The end of the Indian wars in </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> came in 1875, when the last of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Comanche-Chief-Quanah-Parker/dp/0785822593?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Comanche's </span></a><span style="color: blue;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0785822593" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span>were captured and sent to reservations in </span><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indian Territory</span></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The railroad had expanded and it was easier to travel. Lastly, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> still had vast areas of unclaimed land. Unlike the states east of the </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mississippi</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, there were huge tracts of land as yet unclaimed, which could be had for free or for very little money.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is estimated that over 100,000 whites migrated from the </span><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Deep South</span></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> into </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and large numbers of former slaves migrated into </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for the free land. They had been promised free land in the Southern States, but that never happened, so the Freedman's Bureau encouraged them to go to </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><line coordsize="21600,21600" from="99.75pt,174pt" id="_x0000_s1029" strokecolor="blue" strokeweight="2.25pt" style="flip: y; position: absolute; z-index: 4;" to="321.75pt,235.5pt"><stroke endarrow="block"></stroke></line><rect filled="f" id="_x0000_s1028" strokecolor="yellow" style="height: 25.5pt; margin-left: 138pt; margin-top: 156.75pt; position: absolute; width: 344.25pt; z-index: 3;"></rect><shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 294.6pt; margin-left: 113.25pt; margin-top: -431.15pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 388.5pt; z-index: -3;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21550 21600 21550 21600 0 -38 0"><imagedata o:title="JM Castleberry" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image005.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This was the era in which my </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> families came to this state. They came from </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> during the years from 1870-1920. And Jeremiah Castleberry left a pension record in </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> that indicates that he has "Gone to </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">."</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztJN8LWo9NAlOXF06sc2YnDQQ7IuCP4EiMzUZnr4XgikGqvLtNsfSdZZAXHomv9QWSn2qSeGe_vO3AgVt7m_sFdnValtl_4pb04oAEP1JcOhCFqhBrZLbRyEcEZCd4FsA2fuZ7jrUDPU/s1600/JM+Castleberry.Pension.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztJN8LWo9NAlOXF06sc2YnDQQ7IuCP4EiMzUZnr4XgikGqvLtNsfSdZZAXHomv9QWSn2qSeGe_vO3AgVt7m_sFdnValtl_4pb04oAEP1JcOhCFqhBrZLbRyEcEZCd4FsA2fuZ7jrUDPU/s400/JM+Castleberry.Pension.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why Jeremiah and His Family Migrated</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have family stories that Jeremiah and his family moved because the land had been divided too many times and there was not enough left for he and his grown children to farm. Another family story suggested that Jeremiah left </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> because he had committed murder and had to flee the state. That would fit with the story of individuals who left for </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in a hurry. But I have researched the murder story and that wasn't why he left. And then there is the fact that his son-in-law, Henry Miller, had family near where they settled. And perhaps he came because of men he met during the Civil War. The cemetery he is buried in has a large number of former Confederate soldiers buried there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The more logical explanations fit the historical events in post-reconstruction </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">--the poor economy, the weariness of the land, the abundance of land in </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, whose economy was burgeoning in 1904 when the family migrated to Erath Co. And while he didn't leave "GTT" emblazoned on his home (at least as far as we know), he did leave a record as being one of the 100,000 or so individuals who left the South and came to </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when I combine the records I have collected with the stories I know and add the historical events associated with that time and place, I can find explanations for my ancestor's migrations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that even when I think I "know" the history I should still do some additional research to be sure all my facts are straight and that I have all the information that is available.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that my memory is not as good as it used to be, so now I check all my facts before committing them to paper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Click here learn systematic ways to <a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">find answers</span></a> to your genealogy question.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-9590652361754832712011-06-12T08:36:00.000-05:002011-06-12T08:36:18.819-05:00Tracking Your Ancestors<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">A Family Chronology</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6TSWIeK43v-IfPZXpEV9WnvT3Cd3NFfHDLxuMEWfjZl6g_9WT6ss_LKrKeuToCGElHWP-fSH3Hpr4UcTwsRAulUyFZaMXDS0ujmgN5RDLrEtb08BYeGueuzZXrMr9bvc6sAN3YmoNT0/s1600/WmLCouch+Family+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6TSWIeK43v-IfPZXpEV9WnvT3Cd3NFfHDLxuMEWfjZl6g_9WT6ss_LKrKeuToCGElHWP-fSH3Hpr4UcTwsRAulUyFZaMXDS0ujmgN5RDLrEtb08BYeGueuzZXrMr9bvc6sAN3YmoNT0/s400/WmLCouch+Family+copy.jpg" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lynch Couch Family ca. 1899</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 201.75pt; margin-left: 160.6pt; margin-top: 44.45pt; position: absolute; width: 285.65pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21547 21600 21547 21600 0 -38 0"><imagedata o:title="WmLCouch Family copy" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Couch family line meets every couple of years so family researchers can share what we have learned. We know that most of us are cousins because some of the men have completed a </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trace-Your-Roots-DNA-Complete/dp/1594860068?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">DNA </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1594860068" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span>profile and they fall into the same <a href="http://couchgenweb.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Couch DNA group.</span></a> The rest of us can track our ancestry through the records to the same ancestors as these men. Our challenge is to find records to prove who our immigrant ancestor was.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have all collected a lot of data and need to see how it all fits together. So I decided to create a chronology or timeline of all the data that we have and see if any ideas or clues are generated from that data.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to do this because over the years I have found that a chronology provides me with a complete picture of everything I know about a particular ancestor and his family. I include in my chronology the source of each fact that I have.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Chronology is a Tracking Tool</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 178.05pt; margin-left: 151.5pt; margin-top: 2.15pt; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 275.25pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21542 21600 21542 21600 0 -38 0"><imagedata o:title="Document Collage5" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.png"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now you might ask how this is considered "tracking." Generally tracking means that you can follow your ancestor's migrations from one location to another. With the chronology, I can track their movements as they move from one location to another and I can track their activities within each community they lived in. Therefore using a chronology helps me track several things about an ancestor and his family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QOR7ioIpbPRyhTgU-T9eEVyCZWlwTI0Qij8Zz7Fashh0xXR-0XhOGGjEWTTuQWjEr_MQC0xfNvQgxhjPFGylMjVEgnglKz-lrTBo5-ZyVMgW7PFnr9mkMKziSyBn9C9mJa42o5-YDFc/s1600/Document+Collage5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QOR7ioIpbPRyhTgU-T9eEVyCZWlwTI0Qij8Zz7Fashh0xXR-0XhOGGjEWTTuQWjEr_MQC0xfNvQgxhjPFGylMjVEgnglKz-lrTBo5-ZyVMgW7PFnr9mkMKziSyBn9C9mJa42o5-YDFc/s320/Document+Collage5.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, it helps me keep my facts straight--what happened, when it happened, who was a part of the event and where I got my information. I can also use a comments section for details and notes I want to make about the event or data.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, it provides me with a quick reference of all the information I have collected on a particular ancestor and his or her family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Third</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, it tells me what data I have that is substantiated by records and what data is from a secondary source and will need verification. It also tells me what data I have that I may never be able to prove and what data may be totally bogus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fourth</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, it tells me what data I have that may conflict with other data that I have. Since I have attached an abbreviated version of my source, I can compare the quality of the sources and then may be able to decide which source is more likely to be correct.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fifth</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, it tells me what data I have yet to collect. I leave rows blank for the basic information such as birth, marriage, census years and death. It is easy for me to see what I haven't filled in yet and what source information I need to collect.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Chronology as an Analytical Tool</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A chronology can also be used as an analytical tool. When you organize your data on a person you can see the conflicts in information that you may not have noticed before. It can help you pinpoint the discrepancies or missing information in your research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can collect a set of data about a particular issue that is unresolved and organize it chronologically. By doing this you can tell what information is in conflict, what information may not be valid and what additional information you may need to collect.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using a chronology I have been able to demonstrate that one of my ancestors had to have had 3 wives rather than the 2 known wives. A 15 year gap in the birth of the children provided evidence that the first known wife was actually wife # 2. While it is possible that there was some very unusual circumstance that could account for a 15 year gap in the birth of children by the same mother, the more likely scenario is that there was a first wife who was the mother of the first set of children. When she died the husband remarried and had another set of children.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using a chronology I was able to organize my facts to help settle a family dispute. Researchers were in disagreement over the first wife of a common ancestor. I made a quick chronology of his grandfather's and his parents' marriages--both substantiated and speculative to determine where to look for his marriage record. I included the data about his marriage to both women. I included my sources and evaluated the data. With this quick chart I was able to determine where the marriage most likely occurred. I found an index and ordered a copy of the marriage bond from the county. It told me that if anyone had ever looked for or found the marriage record they did not indicate so in their sourcing information. By the way, since I didn't want a certified copy, it only cost me $1.64 to get the copy of the marriage bond from the county, $1 for the copy, and two 32</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">¢</span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> stamps--one to send the request and one for the SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="" name="OLE_LINK1"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></a></div><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a chronology helps me keep my data organized by providing a ready reference of everything I know about any particular ancestor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I can add any information I have to the chronology. It doesn't matter if the source is questionable. I still have information available to me for evaluation and comparison to other information that I have found or will find without adding to my family tree.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that using a chronology can help me analyze conflicting data.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a chronology can help me identify missing information about my ancestor and help me determine possible locations and types of records where that information might be found.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a chronology is an easy reference to show the migration of my ancestor from place to place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a chronology provides me with a picture of what my ancestor's life was like by having all the events in their life arranged in the order in which they occurred. This gives me a feeling of knowing them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Click here to learn more about developing and using a <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">chronology</span></a>.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Share your comments about this article or the ways in which you track your ancestors. </span></b></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-71634195514857595312011-06-07T11:19:00.000-05:002011-06-07T11:19:18.665-05:00The Local Library is a Genealogist's Friend<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">The Local Library</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">After I learned to read I became a voracious reader. I was always at the Bookmobile (a mobile library, for those of you too young to remember them) or at the public library to check out several books. So it was natural for me to want to see what my local library had to help me with my genealogy research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I was fortunate that the Amarillo Public Library had a good genealogy section. While it was not as large as others I would visit later, it had plenty of resources that helped me advance my research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From the beginning, I have always gone to the local library to see what information they have. Some places I have been to have no local library (something I consider quite sad.) Others have had large genealogy collections.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I can always count on is that the local library will have a information on the local history and frequently have other unique resources that you cannot find anywhere else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><place><city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ft. Smith</span></city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></state></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 221.25pt; margin-left: -3.9pt; margin-top: 64.4pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 156.9pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-47 0 -47 21567 21600 21567 21600 0 -47 0"><imagedata o:title="Betty~Christening" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.png"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On my first genealogy research trip, my mother & I went to </span><place><city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></city></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sebastian-county-Arkansas-cemetery-records/dp/B0006YQGSU?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Ft. Smith, Arkansas </a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0006YQGSU" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span>to research her mother's family. In addition, to the visit to the courthouses (most </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> counties have 2) and the <span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sebastian-county-Arkansas-cemetery-records/dp/B0006YQGSU?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">cemeteries</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0006YQGSU" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span>, we visited the local public library.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The genealogy collection was a large room with books, microfilm, maps--all the things that I, as a researcher, get excited about finding. I want to see everything!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I cruised through the stacks, a set of books caught my eye. There were three volumes of records from a local funeral home. On the inside book cover was a note explaining how the library acquired the records. A family bought a house and while cleaning the attic, they came across these three books. Rather than toss them like so many would do, they donated them to the public library.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don't know how much they have helped others who have looked through those pages, but for me they were a treasure.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeBhc9eOMTbN8BF7iOqppybW_SZ5bWVfAh7lFGd5Nl5_tJTOMUQLg9lP54WfZMo04cs5b4RHJjx6XfADFeJMcl7wUhDLvBQJRBBymRTKUlVW1LGZPwnCi5reEUHSwrvq8kpEH9JEC4eU/s1600/Anna+Schleicher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeBhc9eOMTbN8BF7iOqppybW_SZ5bWVfAh7lFGd5Nl5_tJTOMUQLg9lP54WfZMo04cs5b4RHJjx6XfADFeJMcl7wUhDLvBQJRBBymRTKUlVW1LGZPwnCi5reEUHSwrvq8kpEH9JEC4eU/s320/Anna+Schleicher.jpg" t8="true" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Katherine (Schleicher) Kaiser<br />
1851-1899</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My gr-grandmother came to the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">United States</span></place></country-region><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> with her parents, Henri Kaiser and Anna Katherine Schleicher in 1876, when she was three years old. They were <span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Volga-Germans-Russia-Americas-Present/dp/0271019336?ie=UTF8&tag=lesslearingen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">German</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lesslearingen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0271019336" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span> and came to settle in </span><place><placetype><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ft.</span></placetype><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><placename><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith</span></placename></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. I am still not sure why, but I know that they were poor, as my gr-grandmother was a maid in the home of her future husband.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 186.75pt; margin-left: 324.8pt; margin-top: 12.45pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 127.45pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-66 0 -66 21555 21600 21555 21600 0 -66 0"><imagedata o:title="scan 0001" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.png"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The funeral books had the funeral record for both of her parents. It told me just how poor they were. Anna's funeral was paid for by a man whose relationship to the family is still unknown to me. Henri's funeral was paid for by the Lutheran church.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The records are simple with just a date, their name, age at death, where buried and items, services paid for, which were the minimum and the cemetery where they were buried. Anna's funeral cost $25 and Henri's was $32.50.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This line from the movie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forrest Gump</i> can be well applied to a local library. When you enter those doors, you have no idea what tidbits of information or clues you may find.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here are just a few of the "tidbits" and clues I have found in my visits to local libraries:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The "other" occupation of one of my 3rd-gr-grandfathers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A 2nd gr-grandfather filed for bankruptcy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A 2nd gr-grandmother died as a result of pneumonia as a consequence of injuries suffered in a tornado.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A copy of a local history that is the only record of my ancestors in a county where the courthouse burned to ashes and there are no records left for the time they lived there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 27.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">®</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The court record book for an apprentice assigned a 3rd-gr-grandfather, which stated my ancestor's occupation and residence at the time. (The county didn't have room to keep this first volume of records, so they gave it to a local, private library.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a local library will have information on the community they serve.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should be prepared to bring my own copying equipment, just in case the library doesn't have any. That actually happened to me in one county library.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should always have change for copies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that while I may not find the answers to my questions, I will always find something that is useful or unexpected.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should set aside one day of my research time for visiting the local library.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the size of the city is not necessarily an indicator of the size of their genealogy or local history collection.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you are new to genealogy or experienced, check out these <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tutorials</span></a>.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Share what you have found in local libraries that helped further your genealogy research.</span>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-1023901422835306742011-05-27T12:24:00.001-05:002011-05-28T00:23:07.408-05:00Using Online Family Trees<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">My Introduction to Online Family Trees</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">When I started my genealogy research I wrote letters hoping the person I was contacting would have the information I wanted. Then I would wait for weeks (or never) for a response that might or might not include an ancestor chart and the information I sought.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Online family trees seemed to be a gift. Now I wouldn't have to wait. I could look at a tree online and if there was a match, I could e-mail the person posting the tree and we could share our information and make new discoveries!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">So I began looking. There were lots of trees with the names I was looking for. One name I was looking for was William A. Finney, born ca. 1806, married to Hannah Haskell. I found two trees that looked promising. One stated that William's father was John Finney and his mother was Sarah. His death certificate indicated that his father was John and his mother was Sarah. So I thought this is my family. All of the children were right.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAl5OqUuqYngep8SZR_6ck0Ljjv7v2yuggGMnDk85St_ujehF_bWEzGWAZJWv2edgHEPvGQWIQOFnUl7uicBjKakaVoN7_5QYyuDrxZjPk4uyYm39TOG0ob0OxSQFRs47bwxVu7uvPYoI/s1600/Wm+A.+Finney.dontsend.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAl5OqUuqYngep8SZR_6ck0Ljjv7v2yuggGMnDk85St_ujehF_bWEzGWAZJWv2edgHEPvGQWIQOFnUl7uicBjKakaVoN7_5QYyuDrxZjPk4uyYm39TOG0ob0OxSQFRs47bwxVu7uvPYoI/s400/Wm+A.+Finney.dontsend.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 296.25pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 431.25pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21545 21600 21545 21600 0 -38 0"><imagedata o:title="Wm A" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By this time I had been researching for 20 years. I knew I needed sources. So I wanted to email this person and find out where they got their information. Being new to the email world, at the time, I gleefully sent out an email to "dont@sendmail.com." That was my first lesson in email. Of course, now I know that this was a nonexistent address, but then I was naive. It bounced back. This person did not want to be identified or contacted.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second tree I found also showed that William's father was John. No mother was listed, but that did not deter me. I looked at the tree and this contributor had the Finney all the way back to 896! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But wait! As I recall from my history classes, the oldest written record of names was the Doomsday Book (tax list, of course) in 1066. Only royal lines can be traced prior to that date. Did this mean that my family came from royalty? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I looked more closely and all the dates for William's ancestors were in this format: </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WFT</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Est. 896-1003. What did this mean? This is what I learned. </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WFT</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> stands for "World Family Tree." Contributors submitted their family tree to Broderbund. The "Est." means that the staff at Broderbund estimated dates for individuals on family trees based on a 20-30 year range for each generation. Using this standard, some of these dates could be off by 10-50 years depending on how many generations were in the tree.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtm0IfiqJbx5vDcNTPkG4RMkz58HnFt6lpWtiZ_UZRQAAJxQPMmehtQr7adOw22IHhm2EznMs850iD6wqsf_DOn6bm3fCEv4CxVDOTMTqN5VWpeOMSdi8-i-wzklxgkgrImfxIsXv6j7s/s1600/Fenis.896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtm0IfiqJbx5vDcNTPkG4RMkz58HnFt6lpWtiZ_UZRQAAJxQPMmehtQr7adOw22IHhm2EznMs850iD6wqsf_DOn6bm3fCEv4CxVDOTMTqN5VWpeOMSdi8-i-wzklxgkgrImfxIsXv6j7s/s400/Fenis.896.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 292.5pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.7pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 431.25pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-38 0 -38 21545 21600 21545 21600 0 -38 0"><imagedata o:title="Fenis" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This all made me quite uncomfortable and curious. So I emailed "sstgod@yahoo.com." 10 years later I am still waiting for a response to my email.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Did With The Information</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I downloaded the gedcoms </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">(</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">GEnealogical Data COMmunication) into my genealogy software. I can open the file in my software, but it is separate from my family file based on my research. I labeled the gedcom with additional identifiers so I can know where I got it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I used the skills I had already learned about verifying the information before adding it to my tree.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What Else I Found About Online Trees</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The more I review trees online, the more I notice the flaws in them. I find many trees with identical information. This means that one person posted the information. Then several others downloaded that gedcom, merged it with their tree and then posted it as their own research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also notice that very few trees actually show the sources for the information contained in them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By merging other files with your file without checking the data and using files that have no sources, errors are replicated across the internet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Online gedcoms have no expiration date. Whatever you post stays there seemingly forever. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The errors posted in online trees at RootsWeb have been replicated on Ancestry, since Ancestry now owns RootsWeb and transferred all the trees there. Family Tree Maker bought the Broderbund World Family Tree files. Ancestry bought Family Tree Maker and now the World Family Tree files can be found on Ancestry. You can also subscribe at Genealogy.com (also owned by Ancestry) and have unlimited access to all the World Family Tree information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am not blaming any of the website owners and developers. They have created an easy way for all of us to share our trees. It is each individual's responsibility to post information that they know is accurate or to be clear that this is speculative data with no foundation in fact.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is my responsibility as a user of these trees to verify the data found before I post the information as correct. And I admit that early on I posted a couple of erroneous pieces of information. And I would gladly take them back if I could.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to <u>always</u>, <u>always</u> verify the data I find in online trees. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to use online trees as hints or clues that I can use to try to track down my family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that just because it is online doesn't make it a fact.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that many people post information and then will not respond to my requests for additional information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to download other people's gedcoms into separate files. I never merge them with my own.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to hand enter any data that I want to add to my family tree file and then only if I have sources for the information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I am the person responsible for how I use online information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I am the person responsible for posting accurate, verified information, complete with source citations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the best information on the internet are the digital images of records that can be found.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you are new to genealogy or experienced, check out these <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tutorials</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sign up to follow me on this blog.</span></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-59008740345569159872011-05-21T08:46:00.004-05:002011-05-21T08:55:04.096-05:00How a Research Notebook Can Keep You Organized<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">I Needed to Stay Organized</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I like all my research materials at my fingertips. If I need to review a census record, I want to have it readily available. If the review of that document triggers an idea about a place to look or generates another question, I want to have my research plan and to do list within reach to add those ideas and questions for follow up later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I bet you are the same way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">In the beginning, I would make those notes in my spiral (see </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://lessonslearnedingenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2011/04/use-loose-archival-quality-paper.html">Use Loose, Archival Paper</a></span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> for that discussion.) That did not work so well. Where were my questions and ideas when I needed to make the next steps? They were buried in my notes on some page in one of the spirals.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I watched other researchers. They carried briefcases and file boxes full of folders and papers. (Remember, this is in the pre-laptop age.) And I noticed that they still were digging through piles of papers, trying to find what they were looking for.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I've always liked 3 ring binders. My first real school notebook was a zippered 3 ring binder with pockets. I still like them the best, but they are too expensive to own more than one. But regular 3-ring binders are relatively inexpensive, so I can have several--in colors too.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" strokecolor="#9e2438" stroked="t" strokeweight="3pt" style="height: 240.75pt; margin-left: 248.95pt; margin-top: 10.3pt; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 186.05pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-253 -195 -253 21746 21853 21746 21853 -195 -253 -195"><imagedata o:title="Joseph Shoup" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I think you see where I am going. I married my love of 3-ring binders with my need to have my genealogy materials all in one place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Why Use a Research Notebook?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOhg08ehIxGycOws_u190DSByl__vouNe1Mltr5bKoyKTOQt50rVwCCJK8cXyyMzFLTRPucrrSY19tH3X7Bsu_WeanY3tM5kzTVH1xWJWqcii1oMA8jRuX5hCYenwXN6XPFtnCDI9LcQ/s1600/Joseph+Shoup1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOhg08ehIxGycOws_u190DSByl__vouNe1Mltr5bKoyKTOQt50rVwCCJK8cXyyMzFLTRPucrrSY19tH3X7Bsu_WeanY3tM5kzTVH1xWJWqcii1oMA8jRuX5hCYenwXN6XPFtnCDI9LcQ/s320/Joseph+Shoup1.jpg" width="249" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I make what I call a "Research Project." This project focuses on one person or nuclear family. I use the notebook to organize my materials and to help maintain my focus on my research goal.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">The notebook helps me maintain control over my research project. It is a place to house all my information that I need for researching one ancestor. I have dividers to "file" different items in my notebook and it allows me to add new materials as I find them </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I collect maps, information about state archives and lists of resources about the area I am researching. These items and my research and correspondence logs each have sections in my notebook.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I keep the "project" together until I have accomplished my goal. When I am done I take everything out and file it in my permanent archive. Then I use the notebook for a new project.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes I get frustrated with the lack of progress on a project. With this system I can take a break and work on something else. Since all my materials are together, it is easy for me to go back, read through what I have accomplished so far and look at everything with new eyes, without having to re-gather all the related materials.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By using the notebook system, I can have two or three research projects going at the same time. The notebooks help me keep everything straight and separated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Keep in My Notebook</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I tried a regular 2 inch binder but it became to heavy to carry around and labeling the outside was unsatisfactory. Now I use a 1 1/2" 3-ring, view binder. I make a cover page labeled with my project name and slip it in the front pocket. I also make a spine label that I slip into the spine pocket. I can easily change the cover page and spine label, allowing me to recycle my binders for different projects.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This chart shows how I organize my notebook. You could organize it any way that you like. What is important is to have all of these items listed in the contents section in your notebook.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 505px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 24.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 24.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: .5pt; mso-border-color-alt: black; mso-border-left-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: .5pt; mso-border-style-alt: solid; mso-border-top-alt: 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Section</span></span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 24.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: .5pt; mso-border-color-alt: black; mso-border-left-alt: .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-style-alt: solid; mso-border-top-alt: 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Contents</span></b></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 34.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Research Plan</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Research Goals and Objectives</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Research plan </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">To Do List</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 25.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Family Group</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Family Group Charts</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pedigree Charts</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 25.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracking Charts</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Census history</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Individual data list</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Individual Chronology</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 25.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Documents</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Documents list</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.2in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: -0.1in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Keep documents acquired in sheet protectors </span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 34.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">State(s) Research Guide</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">[</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white;">one section for each state; you may have 3 or 4 for a single project]</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></i></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Maps</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Catalog of films, books, etc to search</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Local histories</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Repository information</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 34.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Logs</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 34.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Research log</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Correspondence log</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 35.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background: #235357; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 35.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-color-alt: black; mso-border-left-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: .5pt; mso-border-style-alt: solid; mso-border-top-alt: .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 145pt;" width="193"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.1in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Other</span></span></i></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; height: 35.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-color-alt: black; mso-border-left-alt: .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-style-alt: solid; mso-border-top-alt: .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 3.25in;" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.05in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .2in; text-indent: 0.05in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use as needed. For instance:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l7 level2 lfo7; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -0.4in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A third state to search</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l7 level2 lfo7; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -0.4in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Blank forms</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l7 level2 lfo7; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -0.4in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Surname Analysis (spelling variations, meaning; country of origin, etc.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l7 level2 lfo7; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -0.4in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Analysis of each research session</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l7 level2 lfo7; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -0.4in;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Research Journal</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I use a census history, an individual chronology, transcriptions and abstracts to have my data on hand. This allows me to leave my original and/or best copies filed safely. Using these techniques, I am able to organize my facts in a logical way, which in turn makes them easier to retrieve. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Get free <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">census history</span></a> and <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">individual chronology</span></a> forms at <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial.</span></a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to never take the original or best copy of my documents with me when I am researching. Too much handling and exposure to light cause them to deteriorate over time. I also do not have to worry about losing them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I am more effective and efficient when I have all my materials organized and together.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when I keep good notes, complete research and correspondence logs, a to do list and a well-written research plan that it is easy to keep track of where I am in my research on a particular ancestor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that having a section for maps and repository information helps me generate new ideas and find new sources for information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that a 2" ring binder becomes too heavy to carry around.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when I have filled a 1 1/2" binder it is time to restructure my project.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I can carry a census history, individual chronology and transcription or abstract of documents and save a lot of extra paper and weight in my notebook.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Click here to learn more about <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">Research Techniques</span></a> and see a <span style="color: blue;">sample notebook.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Add a comment and join me as a follower.</span></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-58770274115795612892011-05-15T09:15:00.000-05:002011-05-15T09:15:07.226-05:00Land Records You May Have Missed<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Public Domain States</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Early on in my genealogical quest, I started using property records. They helped me determine when my ancestors settled in a place. They frequently gave me the name of a wife and sometimes the names and relationship of other members of the family.</span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrLnmEeIAGV1O6NANdqJArhF8FxpKpf_grF1gHYJGY1r1HnaR9DbJD2ZrZ_eaXHOYewhDLmSdOTvooONfJhUkq6QOSvuAL34z6-ZepO9vzlRyLn0FYfniWWSgKB-lOtxaXSHqJDJDv8M/s1600/First+Land+Patent+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrLnmEeIAGV1O6NANdqJArhF8FxpKpf_grF1gHYJGY1r1HnaR9DbJD2ZrZ_eaXHOYewhDLmSdOTvooONfJhUkq6QOSvuAL34z6-ZepO9vzlRyLn0FYfniWWSgKB-lOtxaXSHqJDJDv8M/s320/First+Land+Patent+copy.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Land Patent <br />
4 March 1788</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" strokecolor="#235357" stroked="t" strokeweight="3pt" style="height: 193.75pt; margin-left: 331.9pt; margin-top: 67.85pt; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 112.7pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-576 -335 -576 21851 22176 21851 22176 -335 -576 -335"><imagedata o:title="CV-0001-001" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">A few years ago, my sister-in-law told me about </span><stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> records. The <a href="http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Bureau of Land Management</span></a> had begun posting the land patent records for what the </span><stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> calls "Public Domain States." Some authors call these "federal land states" or "public land states."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned right away that there are some new terms to learn when working with these records. Fortunately, the </span><stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> website has a glossary that is easy to use and understand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Public Domain or federal land states are those states in which the </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">United States</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> government sold or granted property to individuals. All of the states except the original 13 colonies and the states created from them, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Hawaii</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> are federal land states.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is a Land Patent?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A land patent is the granting of a piece of real estate (land) by a government to a private individual or business. The land patents were either sold at public auctions or granted to individuals for service to the government, sometimes in lieu of payment for that service. Many soldiers in the American Revolution were paid in this way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The issuance of a land patent is the first step in the selling of a tract of land from one individual to another. Once the patent was issued, the patentee (the one who got the property from the government) was able to sell it to another individual.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bureau of Land Management Records</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCA7EFduQGAfQ0I-LDPCHh7ZLZC6XRpBRe1L8MAugPTtVyFzWrYgIz_qNxCzNNGthpO73Lorok4LHgYn9kzw45VJQqINzDhrZ7WAK5wxJ4jNvs9rWu8RLyPvrCaotcYrTBSJZNgl4VqU/s1600/Survey+Map+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCA7EFduQGAfQ0I-LDPCHh7ZLZC6XRpBRe1L8MAugPTtVyFzWrYgIz_qNxCzNNGthpO73Lorok4LHgYn9kzw45VJQqINzDhrZ7WAK5wxJ4jNvs9rWu8RLyPvrCaotcYrTBSJZNgl4VqU/s320/Survey+Map+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> has a website that allows you to search for land patents that have been granted to individuals.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1027" strokecolor="#235357" stroked="t" strokeweight="3pt" style="height: 170.1pt; margin-left: 229.5pt; margin-top: 7.3pt; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical: absolute; position: absolute; width: 216.75pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-299 -381 -299 21885 21899 21885 21899 -381 -299 -381"><imagedata o:title="Wisconsin" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> site you can look at and save images of the land patent documents. You can also in many cases find images of the original survey maps.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can read about the <a href="http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=01_GLO_Records|01_Our_Record_Keeping_History"><span style="color: blue;">history of the BLM</span></a> in their extensive reference section, which includes the glossary mentioned above.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I Began My Search</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I began searching for various ancestors on this site. Since most of my ancestors migrated to </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in the late 1800s, I learned early on about federal land states and "state land states" (states whose lands were never part of the Public Domain.) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But when I began to look for my pre-Texas ancestors I found a number of records. Most of these are from </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Missouri</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, but there are 30 states that were federal land states, so I had others to look through--</span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arkansas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mississippi</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arizona</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Mexico</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and so on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ancestors I have found were the first purchasers of this property. I have discovered that some of them claimed their property before the federal government had actually opened up the land sales. Generally these certificates are called Pre-emption Certificates, meaning that they claimed the land by right of possession.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These were ancestors who in some cases had moved in amongst the Indians when the state was still a territory. Some of them purchased tracts of land that had not been sold at the initial auctions, sometimes many years after the sale.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The records I have found help me know just how early some of my ancestors moved into those areas. From this information I can search census and court records to help find their families and determine when they left an area or if they died there, which then can lead to probate records, where members of the family are identified.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I download the maps, when available, to help me pinpoint where my ancestor lived and who his neighbors were. Knowing the neighbors may help me identify other family connections.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that not everyone purchased or received a land patent or grant.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that some of the earliest land sale records in a county's deed books are the sale of these land patents almost immediately after purchase, before the land patent certificates were issued.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that land speculators tried to purchase as much of the land as possible in the public auctions, even hiring "agents" to purchase for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that the federal government tried to make sure that more people could become land owners by making the price cheap and by limiting how much land a single individual could purchase at one auction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that not all states are found on the </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> site. Only states known as "federal land" states have records posted there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that "state land" states issued their own grants or their grant process occurred before the American Revolution. These include the original 13 colonies and the five states created from them; </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hawaii</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that not all original survey maps can be found on this site.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should keep checking back to see what records the </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BLM</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> has imaged and posted to this site.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you are new to genealogy or experienced, check out these <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tutorials</span></a>.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Share your experiences with BLM Land Patents. Post a comment.</span></b></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-67591557545395252012011-05-06T20:20:00.000-05:002011-05-06T20:20:00.898-05:00Grandpa Would've Known....<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Wish I Had Asked More Questions</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigy0bfHsz1jE2yCmYiAkOKLJHdKjQbatcGvDx-gI06p3Q-kYwaJ5JR64WByDB-q7VCzyeswpjlRTkpPyOeCIu_9trIbX5HI6OLIpYkmEdqZmUN2wYj57Vhn4qlJalZ1_yiJWntd7_XXlY/s1600/Wm+Robert+Couch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigy0bfHsz1jE2yCmYiAkOKLJHdKjQbatcGvDx-gI06p3Q-kYwaJ5JR64WByDB-q7VCzyeswpjlRTkpPyOeCIu_9trIbX5HI6OLIpYkmEdqZmUN2wYj57Vhn4qlJalZ1_yiJWntd7_XXlY/s320/Wm+Robert+Couch2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Robert Couch</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 188.25pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 144.2pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-165 0 -165 21474 21600 21474 21600 0 -165 0"><imagedata o:title="William" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">My grandfather died when I was 16. He was fairly young, only 64 when he died, just three months after his father died. He was born the year that Spindletop made Texas "oil country", the oldest of his siblings, he attended college before he graduated high school, he worked the oil fields at Ranger, Texas during their short-lived oil boom and became a civil engineer, working for the Santa Fe railroad and later the United States Weather Bureau.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">But this story isn't really about him. It is about my mother and I. We did lots of research together. We shared information and had many discussions, some heated, about what this information or that information meant and where it could lead us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">The one thing that we shared was that I would say "Grandpa would have known the answer." Or she would say, "Daddy would have known about that." We both agreed that we both should have asked more questions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">But I was young and had my head buried in a book. Family history was only interesting to me when I heard the stories. Wish I could remember them all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Mother did not start researching until ten years after her father died, so she never asked what he knew about his family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #134f5c;">What's the Point Here?</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While I had only one grandparent still living when I started my research, I still had several great aunts and uncles and many older cousins.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I visited several of these great aunts and uncles and some of my grandparents cousins, but I was only interested in photographing their pictures. I half-listened to their stories. I did try to pick up on what the pictures were about.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I should have asked more questions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Why Listening and Asking Are Worth the Time</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Several of my mother's cousins are still alive. One of them visits my home once or twice a year. I now listen to his stories. (Remember I have learned from my lost opportunities.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The most revealing story was at a Thanksgiving celebration in my home. He and his children had come for dinner and he was telling his stories. I knew he had been married several times, so I asked him how many times he had been married and he said, "Five." Both his daughter and I were shocked. We knew he had been married 4 times. So I asked who his first wife was. Turns out, his first marriage lasted less than 24 hours. The girl's father found out and had it annulled the very next day. None of us knew.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #134f5c;">What I Learned</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that I should have asked more questions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when I listen to the older members of my family, I find out interesting things.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's never too late to start asking questions and listening to the stories.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Click here <span style="color: blue;">(</span><a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">What Do I Do Next)</span></a> to learn how to interview your family to get great family stories and clues.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">P.S. Comment on my experience or add your own experiences in successful interviews and missed opportunities .</span></b></div></span></b></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-81765938264387096072011-04-29T22:08:00.005-05:002011-05-01T12:25:50.943-05:00Where Did That Census Come From?<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">I Started</span></b></div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTORXjA_V9uC-qCvmZBZUIRV4TsrmjzLFoCdr-ulhu2fjmeMwmPFH4Tu0aG7qn_H6koqRzDtAPCuaCs0Hqk7i2vm1t05DIflt9pmRuI5JO4Tdztw_rJaXGrdlfh2kDosJxIvzJ2d2ulI0/s1600/Henry.Amanda+Miller.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTORXjA_V9uC-qCvmZBZUIRV4TsrmjzLFoCdr-ulhu2fjmeMwmPFH4Tu0aG7qn_H6koqRzDtAPCuaCs0Hqk7i2vm1t05DIflt9pmRuI5JO4Tdztw_rJaXGrdlfh2kDosJxIvzJ2d2ulI0/s320/Henry.Amanda+Miller.2.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry and Amanda (Castleberry) Miller<br />
ca. 1940</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Because my grandmother's death triggered my desire for finding my family, I was naturally drawn to her side of the family. Her mother, Amanda Castleberry Miller, was a large part of the stories told by her and by my father. So I started my search for Amanda's family, the Castleberrys.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">My mother had a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castleberry and Allied Families, </i>by Jesse Castleberry, 1967, Jesse Castleberry, publisher, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Florida</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. All I had to do was follow the information in the book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I Got Lucky!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned from my mother that census records were available where I could find my ancestors. So I went to my local public library, where it turned out, they had quite a nice genealogy section, complete with census microfilms. (Remember, this is pre-computer, pre-internet, the "dark ages.")</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was lucky! They had films from Coosa Co, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> where my grandmother was born. Since my grandmother was born in 1893 and I wanted to find her mother, Amanda, before she married, I looked for the 1890 census. I found out it doesn't exist. So I looked for 1880. That was available. I quickly found the Castleberry name and started recording what I found. There was my gr-grandmother with her siblings and parents and close to them was an E.J. Castleberry, who turned out to be Amanda's uncle, brother to her father, Jeremiah. A Jane Castleberry was nearby.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I Made Notes</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I dutifully recorded my notes in my spiral notebook, (</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://lessonslearnedingenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2011/04/use-loose-archival-quality-paper.html"><span style="color: blue;">Take Notes on Loose, Archival Quality Paper</span></a>). Here is one page of my notes on that day of research. Notice what is missing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I didn't, until much later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwi-K_COIzG7Ey9lUTsUp9zKFv_fo7SCv8Cc8qltt6cliHK84CqbOigsppoGZwjQu2U-tebGQDu50bAz0PrdZ3AAl10_9W5dHc3GddiJmKu-cL__sYoPACA7L2T1bCzzKbkgHahjPyRs/s1600/Notes+Image+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwi-K_COIzG7Ey9lUTsUp9zKFv_fo7SCv8Cc8qltt6cliHK84CqbOigsppoGZwjQu2U-tebGQDu50bAz0PrdZ3AAl10_9W5dHc3GddiJmKu-cL__sYoPACA7L2T1bCzzKbkgHahjPyRs/s400/Notes+Image+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1027" stroked="t" strokeweight="3pt" style="height: 139.5pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-top: 2.15pt; position: absolute; width: 431.25pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-150 -465 -150 21948 21750 21948 21750 -465 -150 -465"><imagedata o:title="Notes Image copy" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If this was all you found of my notes from that day, how could you verify my notes? How would you find what I found? Without a source and a location where I found my information, you cannot find where Jane Castleberry was nor how she might fit into my Castleberry line. And just searching for Jane could result in a lot of work, because there were a number of Jane Castleberrys. Oh! And by the way, what census year was this anyway?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I Should Have Known Better</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had a great junior English teacher when I was in high school. Mrs. Matherly was tough and demanding. She taught us all those "English" things--how to diagram sentences, the correct tense, parts of speech, all of that stuff. But the thing I remembered her for most was the lessons on how to write a research paper. It was invaluable when I got to college and had to write all those research papers (2-4 every semester) that many professors demand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What Mrs. Matherly taught us was how to take good notes with proper references so we could cite our sources with footnotes and create a bibliography to give proper credit to the authors and publishers whose works we used to gather our data. Sound familiar?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I was taking those notes, I forgot all that Mrs. Matherly taught me and all that I had practiced for those years in college, including the year I got my master's degree, where I had to write a research paper for every class I took.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'll even confess that as a high school political science teacher, I made my students write a research paper, because I knew that it would help them in college. I taught them Mrs. Matherly's method.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why Did I Forget All This Training?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I got excited.</span></i></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This was my family!</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> They were actually on paper (at least a microfilm image of the page.) It made them </span><stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">REAL</span></stockticker><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It was almost like reaching back through time and touching them. At least that was the feeling for me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had taken a number of pages of notes.</span></i></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The previous pages of notes that I took that day do not necessarily reflect stellar documentation. A future researcher would not know when I collected this information, nor would they know where I found my information--was it from the microfilm; was it an extraction from a book? They would not know what library or archive I visited. But there was enough information that at least they could find the documents.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the page with notes for Jane had NOTHING! Not the county and state where I was searching. I did not even record the census year I was looking at. As long as this page stayed with the other pages there was a chance I or another researcher would be able to make the proper connection. But as I discussed in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://lessonslearnedingenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2011/04/use-loose-archival-quality-paper.html"><span style="color: blue;">Take Notes on Loose, Archival Quality Paper</span></a>, I separated all those spirals and Jane's page went into a different file folder from Jeremiah's.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had recorded the same information on each page before this one. Since I was using a spiral it was obvious that this page belonged with the others. Or at least so it seemed at the time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Years later when I began to enter this data into my family tree program, I realized how lax I had been. Now I had to find this record again and get the proper documentation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to stop and breathe when I find something exciting. Well, at least after I have danced around a bit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to write my documentation on every page of the notes I make.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to write my documentation on the back of documents I collect. I do not write on the face of the document.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to photocopy or photograph the title page and copyright page of books I use, when I make copies of pages in the book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to copy the film number image and title page image of any microfilm I use.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to record all my documentation information in my research log: the date of research, what facility I am at, and all the correct source information (author, title, copyright date, publisher and publication date and place), as well as the page or image numbers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned to number my notes and documents and record this information on my research log as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that by collecting all of this information and recording it on my research log, I can find my information again and other researchers can track my research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that when I document completely and properly, my research is credible and therefore believed by other researchers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that just as I want credit for what I research and write, I must give credit to those whose research and writings I use.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Want to know more about how to properly document your research? Check out my tutorial "<a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">Proper Documentation</span></a>."</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Add your comments below on what else you think I might have missed in recording the information from the census.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-63970549340617146432011-04-22T17:31:00.003-05:002011-05-01T12:19:43.140-05:00What Are CMSRs?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">My husband and I recently attended a local parade, for the "Cowboy Culture Celebration" in our local community. One of the groups on parade was the Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896,. I was reminded as I watched this group that many Confederate veterans came to </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> during the 50 years after the Civil War.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">The Family Stories</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 232.5pt; margin-left: 267.75pt; margin-top: 14.1pt; position: absolute; width: 165.6pt; z-index: -3;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-65 0 -65 21554 21600 21554 21600 0 -65 0"><imagedata o:title="Jeremiah Castleberry" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGgBgUurBANwPHZ-9vIsy6WJMigt95_eYNXFC2LxcdsU8gJufrN6Vi8TJvNNzZwlHLc385zciGF1UAga3pOImRNH_OtQdfEi0YBXueW2paNW9Vdr9_BbD8tPDgkCjcZLEgAkltmCwvq0/s1600/Jeremiah+Castleberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGgBgUurBANwPHZ-9vIsy6WJMigt95_eYNXFC2LxcdsU8gJufrN6Vi8TJvNNzZwlHLc385zciGF1UAga3pOImRNH_OtQdfEi0YBXueW2paNW9Vdr9_BbD8tPDgkCjcZLEgAkltmCwvq0/s320/Jeremiah+Castleberry.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">One of those veterans was my 2nd gr-grandfather, Jeremiah Castleberry.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I remember when I first learned that he had served in the Civil War. My grandmother's cousin had this ambrotype of him. She also had an ambrotype of my 2nd gr-grandmother, Jeremiah's wife Martha Jane Lewis. Martha would have had Jeremiah's picture and he would have carried hers.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 241.8pt; margin-left: 2.9pt; margin-top: 13.25pt; position: absolute; width: 182.2pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-67 0 -67 21549 21600 21549 21600 0 -67 0"><imagedata o:title="Martha Lewis~ca 1861" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUZaj19Fr7-synAJVcYzM7v8nPwiZB9-ZpFODuLbJ7bbRw2HeCVfyHVLaAUJliQ4671RfKvLpLumrrL_rVxZtcJuOgSSOvPuTbEyVw8y29lwiGVMQAv9MGSeO7RU_lKrssBc62B1pcWo/s1600/Martha+Lewis%257Eca+1861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUZaj19Fr7-synAJVcYzM7v8nPwiZB9-ZpFODuLbJ7bbRw2HeCVfyHVLaAUJliQ4671RfKvLpLumrrL_rVxZtcJuOgSSOvPuTbEyVw8y29lwiGVMQAv9MGSeO7RU_lKrssBc62B1pcWo/s320/Martha+Lewis%257Eca+1861.jpg" width="240" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">It seemed all so romantic. I wanted to know more.</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I asked my father what he knew about his gr-grandfather. He told me that his gr-grandfather hated being in "The War" [for those of you who are not Southerners, "The War" is the Civil War] and that Jeremiah was conscripted to serve by the slave owners. He also said that the Castleberrys didn't own slaves and so Jeremiah resented having to support that institution. He also told me that Jeremiah and his brother were marching along a road when Jeremiah's brother was shot. Jeremiah stopped to render aid but the commanding officer made him leave his brother on the road and keep marching. Jeremiah's brother died that day and Jeremiah resented the officer.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">The Romance Began to Fade....</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Compiled Military Service Records</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><shape id="_x0000_s1028" style="height: 431.25pt; margin-left: 280.55pt; margin-top: 7.45pt; position: absolute; width: 184.9pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-58 0 -58 21575 21600 21575 21600 0 -58 0"><imagedata o:title="Page 2" src="file:///C:\Users\Sandra\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image005.jpg"></imagedata><wrap type="tight"></wrap></shape><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">This was back in 1981, so I had to order his records. Unlike Union soldiers, there are few confederate records. Fortunately for me, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> has quite a collection. This was my first introduction to Compiled Military Service Records.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Brigadier General Fred C. Ainsworth, head of the Record and Pension Office in the War Department [now the Department of Defense], directed that the Civil War Records and Documents be organized to obtain as complete a record on each soldier as was possible. This project began in 1903 and a card was completed for each time a soldier's name appeared in a record. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRfh3S2FmiV7tsTm28dNKG3b4PYKPIoIpMiUqGQ20UZWmmDLx_pnTX8SAM9NVOX6tBg-Y86nIk4-FJZDUP1139JCIbv7oERb7ouAqLNPUaPMy0OI7U9Tvk413IThfucQhsIoaWWnXqjNo/s1600/Page+2.4.JM+Castleberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRfh3S2FmiV7tsTm28dNKG3b4PYKPIoIpMiUqGQ20UZWmmDLx_pnTX8SAM9NVOX6tBg-Y86nIk4-FJZDUP1139JCIbv7oERb7ouAqLNPUaPMy0OI7U9Tvk413IThfucQhsIoaWWnXqjNo/s320/Page+2.4.JM+Castleberry.jpg" width="137" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">These cards come from documents such as muster rolls, hospital records, enlistment papers, officers' reports and notes, etc. In some instances, there may be original documents included in this file. All of the cards and any documents specific to that soldier were placed in jacket envelopes.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Copies of Jeremiah's records cost me $5 back in the 1980s. The clerks in the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/"><span style="color: blue;">National Archives</span></a> chose which documents they would include in your package. Sometimes you got the whole file and sometimes you did not. In the late 1990s, my sister ordered Jeremiah's records from the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/civilwar150/"><span style="color: blue;">National</span><span style="color: blue;">Park Service</span></a><a href="http://www.nps.gov/civilwar150/"> </a><span style="color: blue;">.</span> She got more than I had gotten, but it cost her $50.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Two years ago when I became a member of Footnote I looked for Jeremiah's records. Now I have 31 images of his service in the Confederate Army.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Make a Chronology</span></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Jeremiah's CMSR (Compiled Military Service Record) provides these facts:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Served as a private in Co. F of the 2nd Battalion known as Hilliard's Legion, which later became Co. C of the 59th Alabama Regiment.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">26 March 1862</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: enlisted at Rockford, Coosa Co, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div><ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="1" month="6" year="1862"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">1 June 1862</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: present [Muster rolls included the lists of soldiers in a company. The notes indicated whether they were "present", sick, wounded, captured, deserted, etc.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="1" month="9" year="1862"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">1 Sept 1862</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: present</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="31" month="1" year="1863"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">31 January 1863</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: present "joined from desertion." </span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">July/August 1863: present</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="20" month="9" year="1863"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">20 September 1863</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: reported sick to the hospital. The same day his brother Joseph was killed at </span><city><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Chickamauga</span></place></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. One can only believe that he said he was ill so he could check on his brother, who had been shot.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">12 May 1864: wounded; "shell wound slightly above the left knee." </span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">25 May 1864: returned to duty </span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="17" month="6" year="1864"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">17 June 1864</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: captured at </span><place><city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Petersburg</span></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">VA</span></state></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="24" month="6" year="1864"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">24 June 1864</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: arrived at </span><place><city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">City Point</span></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">VA</span></state></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="27" month="7" year="1864"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">27 July 1864</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: transferred to Elmira Prison in </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">New York</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. He spent most of the rest of the war at Elmira Prison in </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">New York</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><city><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Elmira</span></place></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> was the Union equivalent of </span><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Andersonville</span></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> in the South.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="14" month="3" year="1865"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">14 Mar 1865</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: released in a prisoner exchange</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><date day="25" month="3" year="1865"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">25 Mar 1865</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">: furloughed from </span><place><placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">General</span></placename><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Hospital</span></placetype></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, Howard's Grove, </span><place><city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Richmond</span></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">VA.</span></div></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">There were 6 cards in this file that belong to a Jerry M. Castleberry, Pvt. Co B, 30th Regiment, AL Inf, who died at </span><place><city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Camp Douglas</span></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Illinois</span></state></place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> while a prisoner. This is not my Jeremiah, since he lived to come home and father my gr-grandmother in 1868.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Facts Generate Questions</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Jeremiah's CMSR generated more questions for me:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Why did he desert?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Why did he return to his unit?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">What was time spent in </span><city><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Elmira</span></place></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> prison really like?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Did his experiences during the Civil War, such as battles like </span><city><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Chickamauga</span></place></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> where </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> brigades fought or imprisonment at </span><city><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Elmira</span></place></city><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> where he would have met Texans, influence his decision to move to </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">What was life like for his family in </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Alabama</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> while he was away at war?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Did his two other brothers and his brothers-in-law serve in the Civil War?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">From these questions, I can look for more documents to help me understand Jeremiah's experience and his family's experience during the Civil War.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">For each question I can make a <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">research plan</span></a> to help me focus on the records and strategies most likely to answer that question.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">What I Learned</span></b> </span></div><ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that family stories frequently have a kernel of truth in them.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that the records can give meaning to seemingly inexplicable actions.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that there may be more than one soldier with the same name and cards for both may be filed together.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that by knowing the facts found on the cards and using Civil War books and websites, I can trace the movements of my Civil War ancestor.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that if I create a chronology of the facts found on the cards, I have a better picture of what Jeremiah's experience was in the war and where I can find answers to my questions.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">I learned that in spite of being Southern and an avid fan of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gone With the Wind</i>, the Civil War was a dark period in the history of our country. It was in no way romantic.</span></div></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">If you want to find the CMSRs for your Civil War ancestor, check out <a href="http://www.footnote.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Footnote</span></a>. The searches are free. You can purchase a subscription or pay a fee for each individual page you want. I recommend the subscription. There were 31 images for Jeremiah. Had I paid the single image fee, it would have cost me over $65 for just his file. By paying $15 more for an annual subscription, I have access to the records of my other Civil War ancestors and my Revolutionary War ancestors and several censuses.....you get the picture.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Get more information on </strong><a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>research plans and analyzing documents.</strong></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana;"><strong><a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy</span> <span style="color: blue;">Tutorial</span></a></strong></span></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-15815855896005609422011-04-15T10:46:00.002-05:002011-05-01T12:26:18.819-05:00Claiming Your Family in the Census<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><b><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></strong></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Was Looking For</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was excited when the 1930 census was made available to the public. I would be able to see my father as a 2 year old in the census and my mother as a 1 year old. So I began my searches. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I searched for my mother in the county and state where I knew I would find her with her parents. She was the oldest so she would be the only child in the household. According to the family stories, they lived in Sweetwater, Nolan Co, Texas. Family stories said that my grandparents and my mother moved to Sweetwater between the birth of my mother and her sister. My mother was born in September 1928 in Big Spring, Howard Co, Texas and her sister was born in May 1931 in Sweetwater, Nolan Co, Texas. I believed that my mother was under a year old when they moved.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I knew they lived in town, because my grandfather was a civil engineer and didn't own a farm. I also knew that they lived next door to my grandfather's cousin, Charles Ross. So I searched for William R. Couch in the 1930 Nolan Co, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> census.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Family I Found</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 1930 census for Nolan Co, TX, lists:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">William R. Couch as a Civil Engineer, the same as my grandfather's occupation. His birthplace and the birthplaces of his parents match what I already knew about my grandfather's family. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Flora Couch's birthplace and parents' birthplaces also matched what I knew about my grandmother's family. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">Vera Couch</span>, aged 1 1/2 years, was the right age to be my mother.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="209" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOnAG-nlMPFBdjRb2TVwT0iczBY9eeReEIpBC3umdBeezct64JUZsTDPgJzG_8PJ8t_YrRIsxSyzqVuPnl1UYH700Gmg5XJOlahlKzUqxatXNl1U64p86srLh-u8cSHpUPxAE3eeBK3k/s320/1930+Census.Nolan.jpg" width="320" /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></f><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></f><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></f><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></f><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></f><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></f><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></f><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></path><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></shapetype></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">1930 US Federal Census, Nolan Co, </span><state><place><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Texas</span></place></state><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">, Sheet # 25B, </span><date day="17" month="4" year="1930"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">17 April 1930</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">. Footnote.com <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.footnote.com/image/#116787357</span>. Note: You can also view this census on <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ancestry</span>. Both <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Footnote</span> & <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ancestry</span> are subscription sites. Searches on Footnote are free, but require a membership to view documents.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I found several other families who could be mine, including, Charles Ross. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charlie Ross was my grandfather's cousin who had supposedly lived to next door to my grandparents. But this family lived a couple of blocks away. This did not discourage me, since I know that family stories frequently are a mix of fact and misinformation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How I Claimed My Family</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 20pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While I was confident I had found the correct family in the census, I still would have to be able to prove it with supporting documentation. A lineage society or professional genealogical publication for instance, would not accept a census record as the only proof of the relationship. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since I want my research to be viewed as credible, I would need other evidence.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remembered the picture in my grandparents' photo album.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 27.0pt 31.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The one of my mother as a toddler,</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 27.0pt 31.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">...on the sidewalk in front of the house,</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 27.0pt 31.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">...with the house number on it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQp6fdSez383jwDMqCeqrmj2zspB4qC5H-w6n96HfoiiUoAJcM1yxamDmDZsdn4m0oz52U5FXkWCJdAbtJqzEoWtTfOuoqiXinGA3blBMml14tbNlXbD2WnDyI7Zd0c5lVSS9gtYyeD1o/s1600/406+E.+Ave+C.Vera+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQp6fdSez383jwDMqCeqrmj2zspB4qC5H-w6n96HfoiiUoAJcM1yxamDmDZsdn4m0oz52U5FXkWCJdAbtJqzEoWtTfOuoqiXinGA3blBMml14tbNlXbD2WnDyI7Zd0c5lVSS9gtYyeD1o/s320/406+E.+Ave+C.Vera+copy.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William and Flora Couch Album, 1926-1937. </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I knew my grandmother had written the street and town name on that page of photos of my mother playing in the snow. It could be used as one piece of evidence.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I looked at the album page and sure enough it was exactly as I had remembered it and there was the address: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><street><br />
<address><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">406 East Ave. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">C, </span></address></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><place><city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sweetwater</span></city><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></state></place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Mother was 14 1/2 months old. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since my mother was born mid-September 1928, this photo was taken in late January or early February 1930. The census was enumerated for April 1st that year. Also, there are subsequent pictures of my mother and her siblings at this same house, so I know they didn't move for several years. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All of this affirmed for me that the stories were correct: they lived in Sweetwater in 1930.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since I had an exact address and I knew that the 1930 census listed the house number for families living in town, I checked the census for William R. Couch's house number and street name. His house number was 406 and the street name was Ave C. [Check out the instructions for <a href="http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1930InstructionstoEnumerators.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">census takers</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.] </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the way, this is what the house looks like now [2011] via <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=406+East+ave+c+sweetwater+texas&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=406+E+Ave+C,+Sweetwater,+Texas+79556&gl=us&ll=32.469136,-100.401306&spn=0,0.003473&t=h&z=19&cbll=32.469185,-100.401204&panoid=x0sWSLqAzHxRIh83Pbxhvw&cbp=12,155.38,,0,4.02&pw=2"><span style="color: blue;">Google Maps</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was nice to know that I remembered my facts correctly, but since my mother's name is not on the photo, I will need additional evidence. The photo album has this inscription inside :</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzP2_aHhHu3M2XpPeAu-iw2ojYjASdTuL5vbyLP63kJHyzJh4bVM1xzTneRbM2-yWMHZHc2LXr_c36Tqc4Z8o0Hh-Gl1Ubjherh8AN1yq70lxOPBFAfxchi7Tunuwqa6P2bLoE2Z3kpeU/s1600/Album+inscription.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzP2_aHhHu3M2XpPeAu-iw2ojYjASdTuL5vbyLP63kJHyzJh4bVM1xzTneRbM2-yWMHZHc2LXr_c36Tqc4Z8o0Hh-Gl1Ubjherh8AN1yq70lxOPBFAfxchi7Tunuwqa6P2bLoE2Z3kpeU/s320/Album+inscription.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William and Flora Couch Album, 1926-1937</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This along with other photos in the album provide evidence that this album belonged to my grandparents and along with other photos provide evidence supporting the photo identification as that of my mother, Vera when she was 14 1/2 months old. My mother also told me that the photos in the album were of her as a little girl.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other documents that I have to support my analysis include:</span> </div><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Delayed birth certificate for Vera Couch, with affidavit by her mother, Flora Couch</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: list .4in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Birth certificate for my birth, listing Vera as my mother</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: list .4in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marriage license for my grandparents</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: list .4in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marriage license for my parents</span></div></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These documents support the lineage of the individuals in the census and their connection to me.</span></div><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"></span></div><span style="color: #741b47;"></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Supporting Documentation</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 20pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This may all seem silly and unnecessary since I have the census and the photos and I knew all of these people. I also have my own knowledge and experience as part of my "proof."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Documenting your research is time consuming but well worth the effort. It has many benefits for you and your readers. <strong>Click here to learn more about </strong><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>documentation</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: blue;"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But I won't be alive forever and I would hope that future researchers would be able to use my research to help them. It can only be helpful if it is accurate and well documented.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #741b47;"></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What I Learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 20pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have learned to use census records appropriately. The families listed on the census mean that all of those people lived in that house. It does not mean that they were a family. Not all censuses indicate relationships to <a href="http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1930InstructionstoEnumerators.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">the head of the household</span></a> and even when they do, it does not establish the relationships of other members of the household to each other. For instance, the wife of the head of the household is not necessarily the mother of the children in the house.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have learned that I need to find additional records that establish those relationships.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have learned that I need documentation that ties my ancestors to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Only by finding supporting and clarifying documents and then by tying them to myself through further documents, can I claim a family found in the census as mine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Click here for more on tips for using </strong><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/products.html"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>census records</strong></span></a><span style="color: blue;"><strong>.</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sandra</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genealogy Tutorial</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-73647199238983306362011-04-08T01:41:00.001-05:002011-05-01T12:17:12.828-05:00Go to School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><strong>Why I Went to School</strong></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-4SzzM_-hf10JVy0f8mPkDmHrETCX4NzVKtqHwDEcREOjdMFNbdgy_TVGVQSb0M0Z15nboCgXfJJCpI_XODX-BPU0Vo_1CGRF9mz7yW1PfohfY7QTx7OnE0keqzwaCsemJV-JL4zwrc/s1600/Reference+Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-4SzzM_-hf10JVy0f8mPkDmHrETCX4NzVKtqHwDEcREOjdMFNbdgy_TVGVQSb0M0Z15nboCgXfJJCpI_XODX-BPU0Vo_1CGRF9mz7yW1PfohfY7QTx7OnE0keqzwaCsemJV-JL4zwrc/s200/Reference+Books.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As an educator, I know the value of learning. Teachers try to instill in their students a love of learning, because they know that learning is a part of our lives. This is just as true for genealogy research as it is for students in school and employees in the workplace.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I began my genealogical quest, I hardly knew what I was doing. There was no internet then and no computers for individuals to use. [No, I do not miss those days. I LOVE my techo toys!!]</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>What "Schools" Do I Choose?</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My first school was through the local community college, known as a "junior college" back then. They offered a series of community service classes, so I checked out the spring schedule. There was a listing for a beginning genealogy class. I signed up. Sylvia was our instructor and she made the class fun and informative. She covered the "basics."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once a year, the local genealogy society would offer a day long conference with 20+ classes on a variety of genealogical topics. I would sign up for several classes. This conference was not very expensive, generally around $20. I still use the handouts I received as reference material. Find the one in your area <span style="color: black;">using a Google</span> search.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also attended the annual conferences that the local <a href="http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhc/frameset_fhc.asp"><span style="color: blue;">Family History Center</span></a> held. This were similar to the genealogical society conferences. There were many choices of topics to choose from. The conference was free. For $5 you could purchase a set of the handouts from every session. I have one for every conference I attended. I still use them as reference materials.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My <a href="http://www.relativebliss.com/"><span style="color: blue;">sister-in-law</span></a> and I decided we would meet once a week to study specific topics. We made a year long schedule and took turns preparing materials from the internet and books we purchased or checked out from the library to use for learning and discussion. We studied every topic we could think of, so we could learn how to be effective and successful in our research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the advent of the internet, not only do I now have access to a huge amount of information on how to research, but also access to the great variety of subjects that are relevant to genealogy--history, geography, sociology, economic patterns and events and so on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I use the lessons and e-zine articles online to further my knowledge on research techniques, records that are available and what is new online.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Going to School Can Produce Big Aha Moments</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A few years ago, I had a chance to attend one of the <a href="http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info"><span style="color: blue;">National Genealogical Society</span></a><span style="color: blue;">'</span>s conferences. I highly recommend them to anyone who has a chance to attend. Since I am from </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, most of my ancestors were Southerners and this conference had a strand that focused on researching in Southern states. I attended sessions on </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maryland</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Virginia</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and Tennessee/North Carolina. I also attended a session on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.whollygenes.com/"><span style="color: blue;">The Master Genealogist</span></a></i> software.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The best session I attended was the one on Tennessee/North Carolina, by an instructor and professional genealogist from </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tennessee</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, <a href="http://www.kytnresearch.com/marklowe.htm"><span style="color: blue;">J. Mark Lowe</span></a>. Maybe you remember Mark from the <a href="http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/lionel-richie/1309507"><span style="color: blue;">Lionel Ritchie</span></a> episode on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/"><span style="color: blue;">Who Do You Think You Are?</span></a></i><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned from Mark's class that not only did our ancestors cross county lines to record deeds and get married, but they also crossed state lines. They went to whatever courthouse was close and convenient.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a political science major, I knew that the boundaries between counties, states and countries were not drawn on the ground, only on maps. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who knew that could apply to my genealogy research?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I call it an "aha moment", some might call it "Duh!"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>What I Learned</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned so much from that beginning genealogy class that I still use today. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned how to complete <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">ancestor charts</span></a> and <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">family group sheets</span>.</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that birth and death certificates were not required before the early 1910s in most states. Neither were marriage licenses.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned how to write a letter requesting information from county record offices and to write letters requesting information from individuals. [Yes, we had to write letters and mail them by 'snail mail.'] And you will do some letter writing yourself.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">how to approach the county clerk</span></a> and what types of records I could expect to find in the county courthouse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also learned that not all first-born babies are born 9 months or more after the marriage and that we all have skeletons in our family closet. Note: if you are afraid of those skeletons, this is NOT the hobby for you. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I am fascinated by them</b>.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned what information I should collect to be able to <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">properly document</span></a> the sources of the information I collected. Interestingly enough, it was the same information I had to collect for all those research papers I did in college, a skill that has come in handy in my genealogy research.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I learned that not everyone provides you with accurate information and that even official government records can and will contain errors.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have taken several local classes since then and in the last ten years have taught many classes for local genealogy groups. Whether I am the student or the instructor, I always learn something new.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My sister-in-law and I learned that you have to document everything and believe no one's research until you have verified their research.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">Mark Lowe,</span> during his session on </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tennessee</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><state><place><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">North Carolina</span></place></state><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> research, gave us a tip on how to discover the <a href="http://www.migrationtrails.com/"><span style="color: blue;">migration trails</span></a> of our ancestors. He suggested that we get a tourist brochure that shows the historical sites and "connect the dots." The places that our ancestors left for us to visit help us cross the country to see the paths that they chose to travel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From this tip I was inspired to study </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/migration.html"><span style="color: blue;">migration patterns</span></a></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to discover what paths our ancestors used. I learned that they did not travel in a straight line from point A to point B. And I learned that where they went they frequently left records.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Why Going to School is Important</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The more I "go to school", the more successful I become in finding the answers to my genealogical questions, but more importantly, the more I can understand why my ancestors made the life decisions that they did.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By continuing to search for new information, which is what schooling is all about, I am able to learn what new documents are available online, what new software is available, what new records have been "discovered" and to always review things I have forgotten.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Whether you are new to genealogy or experienced, check out these <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tutorials</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Sandra</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Genealogy Tutorial</span></a></span></b></div></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3781021112902634249.post-49395536536353860582011-04-01T06:50:00.001-05:002011-05-01T12:27:37.372-05:00Take Notes on Loose, Archival Quality Paper<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #134f5c;"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How I Got Started</span> </strong></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_leJKeME2fWCmGo3N-sLEKA-Ega-0aXHA9vxvcZfbXIaBdvt_NysA2f0kgdgX_g02Pybz-rd89QO0RMOI0nidScyhp4hc6EFwsBKJaJ7IZ19PhzGQwG10rpkLalrwlyNKLl-GHXQr5t0/s1600/Lela+Virgie+Miller+Shoup.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_leJKeME2fWCmGo3N-sLEKA-Ega-0aXHA9vxvcZfbXIaBdvt_NysA2f0kgdgX_g02Pybz-rd89QO0RMOI0nidScyhp4hc6EFwsBKJaJ7IZ19PhzGQwG10rpkLalrwlyNKLl-GHXQr5t0/s320/Lela+Virgie+Miller+Shoup.sm.jpg" width="231" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lela Virgie Miller <span style="color: black;">Shoup</span> 1893-1980</span></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">My grandmother died on </span><date day="1" month="8" year="1980"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">1 August 1980</span></date><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. As my parents, my sister & I sat around after the funeral, we did what all families do on these occasions--we began to share family stories and memories. As we sat there, I realized that I was losing my family's past. All my great-grandparents were gone and with the passing of my father's mother, I only had my mother's mother left, as both of my grandfathers had passed many years before. For years I had listened to their stories--where they came from, what their parents were like, how they had lived their lives.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I wanted to capture what I could before my memories became too faint. So I began my genealogical quest. My mother had begun several years before, so I had access to her notes and research. But I wanted to ask my own questions and take my own notes. </span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I bought a 4 subject spiral notebook. It seemed a logical choice. I could use the separate sections to divide the four ancestral lines I had chosen to research. The dividers had pockets to hold loose papers. I had visions of taking all my notes in a very logical, organized way, much like I had in all my college classes. I numbered all the pages for each section. I was excited that I could carry all my research everywhere I went, making all my information readily available. </span></div><br />
<strong><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;">Mistakes I Made</span><span style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I look back now and laugh at my simplistic vision of <a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;">genealogy research</span></a>. I quickly ran through one section of the spiral working on one ancestral line, while the other three sections were virtually empty. So I bought another spiral, now I had to carry two spirals (4 sections each. I was determined to continue with my chosen strategy.) After a few months, it became apparent that the spirals were a bad idea. While they kept everything together, I was carrying far more weight (two 4-subject spirals) than I had expected and I continually had to search through the pages of my notes for information I had collected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I also <span style="color: black;">discovered that as I collected information and added more surnames, I could not separate my notes for those names. Now I had multiple surnames on the same page of notes. So my Roberson notes were mixed in with my Shoup notes and my Miller notes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was also hard to keep track of what I knew about each individual and family group. I recorded my information on <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">pedigree charts</span></a> and <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">family group sheets</span></a>, but they did not provide places for all the details on each individual, nor for the larger family stories (no computers or software back then.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I made file folders for each individual, but because my notes were mixed together, I had to make multiple photocopies of note pages so I could file the correct notes with each individual. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And then there was the problem of which notebook I needed to look at to find the note I was looking for. I would sometimes have to look through 50 or more pages of notes to find the exact information that I needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Twenty years later, I discovered that my original note pages had begun to yellow and the ink was faded on some pages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What seemed like a good idea was not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I have taken those notebooks apart since then and now am scanning all those notes, so they will not be lost forever. With <span style="color: black;">the genealogy software programs that are now available, I am able to capture every tidbit of information</span> and associate it with all the individuals each note references.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 20pt;"><strong>What I Learned</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned that when I need to take notes on paper I use 8 1/2" x 11" paper, so all notes are the same size.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned to use loose (unbound) paper so that I can easily file my notes and documents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned that by using archival quality paper and archival ink pens, my notes will not yellow and they will be readable in 20 years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned to take notes for each ancestor on a separate page, so I can place my notes in the proper individual file.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned to keep a research log, so I can track what I have done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned to make an index of what documents I have for each ancestor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned that I needed a filing system that maintained only one copy of each document or page of notes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We live in a <span style="color: black;">digital age. I am embracing it. When I take notes now, I use my laptop and my digital camera</span><span style="color: blue;">.</span> As soon as I get home from researching, I link the images to my <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">research log</span></a> and my genealogy software. I record the information collected in my genealogy software program.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I learned <span style="color: black;">that digitizing my family history</span> requires time and effort, but the products produced are easy to share with other family members.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I still like spiral notebooks, but not for my <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">genealogy research.</span></a></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Check out my <a href="http://www.genealogytutorial.com/tools.html"><span style="color: blue;">tips on how to get started with your research</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sandra</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://genealogytutorial.com/"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Genealogy Tutorial</strong></span></a></span><br />
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</div></div>Sandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794890457012358666noreply@blogger.com5