Heirlooms and Documents: Preservation and Donation

Not...best practice...

As you're going through old family documents and scanning them into digital copies and organizing them accordingly, you may have run into the question: what do I do with the originals?

Depending on how many original documents and photographs you have, and what format they come in, as well as what they are printed on, this may or may not be a pressing issue for you.

Not all documents are 8.5"x11" and in good condition.  Many may be bound books, rolled documents, scrapbooks, fastened documents, folded documents, hand-written documents, unstable items, oversized items, or damaged items, or a combination of the above - each with their own special and unique considerations.  So, what to do?

While I have seen about a hundred articles all detailing nifty file-storage-organization-systems, I generally recommend that people convert their files to digital format so they aren't using the originals repeatedly for research, and proceed directly to storage and preservation.  How you wish to store them?  That's up to you.  By surname of the head of the home of the family would be my first recommendation, but again, that is up to you.

For family heirlooms (e.g. military medals, military uniforms, antique household items) if they are something you wish to keep, I would recommend researching how best to preserve them for posterity.  Each are going to have their own considerations, and as the number of different items cannot possibly be listed or addressed here, I will turn you to your own research.

However, if you are unable to keep them, you may consider donating them to a local historical society or museum.  Often they will take donated items of a historical or significant nature and display them.  Call around, ask and do your homework. Today's items are tomorrow's history!

Depending on the documents and photographs, some historical societies may take your genealogical papers as well for the preservation of posterity.  Often they have more resources than might be available at home for document storage and preservation, long term. Again, call and do your homework.

Might need some TLC

But what of document storage and preservation?  Briefly:

"Paper preservation requires proper storage and safe handling practices. Your family documents will last longer if they are stored in a stable environment, similar to that which we find comfortable for ourselves: 60-70 degrees F; 40-50% relative humidity (RH); with clean air and good circulation. High heat and moisture accelerate the chemical processes that result in embrittlement and discoloration to the paper. Damp environments may also result in mold growth and/or be conducive to pests that might use the documents for food or nesting material. Therefore, the central part of your home provides a safer storage environment than a hot attic or damp basement. 

Light is also damaging to paper, especially that which contains high proportions of ultra violet, i.e., fluorescent and natural day light. The effects of light exposure are cumulative and irreversible; they promote chemical degradation in the paper and fade inks. It is not recommended to permanently display valuable documents for this reason. Color photocopies or photographs work well as surrogates. 

Family papers should be stored in appropriate sized enclosures, such as a folder, box, portfolio, etc., that will provide physical protection as well as protection from light and dust. The enclosure itself should be made of stable permanent quality materials that will not contribute to the document's deterioration" (From the National Archives.)

Don't forget your map collection....

However, the actual preservation and storage of documents of all different types is much more detailed and critical than can be outlined here. For this reason, I'm attaching a link to the  National Archives Preservation of Archival Records Page which covers much more detailed considerations and education on different files and preservation tips.

Given that the National Archives arose out of the loss of the 1890 federal census to a fire, and is responsible for the keeping of the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta and many other historical items - I think it is safe to say that they know what they are talking about and you can rely on the information given by them.

At any rate, always do your homework and have fun!

Using Google Effectively in Genealogy

While we use websites very often in genealogy, and message boards, Google its self can be a treasure trove of information!  I've actually attended a class on how to use Google but this is the first time I've seen a set of notes on it that was complete enough to post!  This is taken from: http://www.barbsnow.net/GoogleGenealogy.htm

Piece of advice though? Remember that genealogy without sources is mythology!  Remember to verify whatever you find this way just as you would any other way.  Google can turn up some fantastic results but be sure to check them.

 Your Guide to Finding Ancestors with Google

• Google Search Tips
• Google Results
• Beyond Basic Googling
• More Information

Google Search Tips

Often your search results in too many hits to wade through...you need the power of Google's ADVANCED SEARCH
(Link is in tiny letters, to the right of the search box).

You want to find out something about your Powers Family, specifically John Powers who was born in 1788 in County Cork Ireland, married in Ireland, Matilda Moore. He died 1862 in Flint, Genessee Co. Michigan (this is a made up example; don't add him to your family tree!)

• powers family finds the two words anywhere on the page; "powers family" finds the phrase.
• "John Powers" "Matilda Moore" finds pages with both phrases --although not necessarily married ot each other. . (But won't find John C. Powers married Matilda Jane Moore )
• "Matilda * Moore" will find Matilda Moore, Matilda Jane Moore, Matilda Ann Moore, etc. The asterisk will not truncate a word; it wouldn't, for example, find Matildalee. Notice that the whole phrase is in quotation marks; an asterisk won't work without them.
• powers -austin allows you to skip all the pages about Austin Powers (no space after the -)
• +powers finds only powers, not power or powering, for example. 
• ****Remember: the name may be reversed, especially in an index. Try "Powers, John" as well as John Powers
• Try to add specific information, e.g. try +Powers "County Cork" finds Powers (but not Power) and the phrase "County Cork" on the same page.
• What other word would be likely to be on the page? Keep narrowing down with less common words... John Powers Flint Genesee Cemetery. Google assumes AND between words, so any results page will contain all of these words (not necessarily close together).
• Powers ~genealogy finds pages with the words Powers and genealogy or synonyms for the word genealogy.
• Dates can be a way to limit results. "John Powers" 1788 will find pages with the phrase John Powers and the date 1788 on the page. If we knew only that he was born ca. 1788, we can search "John Powers" 1785...1791 to find pages with the phrase John Powers and any of the numbers 1785 thorough 1791.
• Too much to remember? Just use the advanced search pages
• YouTube video "Using Google to find gedcom files"

Getting the most from Google results

If you get results from a large genealogy site, e.g. Rootsweb, the results list may show a link to "more results from... " Clicking that link will bring up other hits from that site.
Get a "file not found" message when you click the link? Go back to the results page and click "cached" to bring up a cached version of the page.

Beyond Basic Googling

Download the Google Toolbar so you don't have to keep going to http://www.google.com to make your searches. In addition to quick searching, this toolbar offers many helpful features. I particularly like the bookmarks tool, which allows me to save bookmarks on the web, so I can add them and find them from any computer. See the toolbar button gallery for a choice of Google tools. Here is a YouTube video that shows one helpful you can use the Google Toolbar for genealogy.
Remember to use Google Images to see if you can find picture. Adding the words post card may find local pictures.
Search Google Books to find text in books that have been scanned. Some books are available for viewing on the web; some will refer you to where you can find the book. In the Google Books Advanced Search you can limit results to
All books    Limited preview    Full view    Library catalogs   (the default is all books)
You can search a selection of books included because of their genealogical value at the Google Thomas J. Kemp's Book Library
Easy Google Genealogy Searcher and Easy Google Genealogy Searcher II will help you construct searches.
Google Alerts will notify you by e-mail anytime the crawler finds a new instance of your search term. At first I loved this, but then I turned it off because I kept getting the same information over and over. Try it to see if you like it.
Build a custom google search to crawl a list of websites.

More information:

• GenealogyInTime:
  • Hot Tips on How to Use Google for Genealogy Searches
  • How to Use Google's Advanced Search for Geneaogy Part I and Part II.
  • How to Refine Google Genealogy Searches
  • Genealogy Guide to Google Country Search Engines
  • Google limitations on Genealogy Searches
• About.com's "Googling Genealogy Style" (turn on your popup blocker, but worth reading )
• Google in Genealogy Searches -- A very helpful page.
• Tips for Using Google in Genealogy Searches -- keep scrolling past advertisements that pop up mid page. It's a long page with lots of tips.
• And find many more links on the Cyndi's List page "Googling for Grandma"
• And if you really want to understand Google, there are actually whole books written on the topic -- including one that applies only to genealogy: Google Your Family Tree
• And if you really want to understand Google, there are actually whole books written on the topic -- including one that applies only to genealogy: Google Your Family Tree
• Read Dick Eastman's column on this book -- but the most interesting part is the string of comments following his article, including a comment by the author.
• Here is another review,written by Leland Meitzler
• Watch and listen to an interview with the author, Dan Lynch.
• Work with his Genealogy PowerSearches described on his website.

Stuck? Bored? Just Been A While? Clean House!

The abandoned basement.  Unopened for years.  Musty, dusty, rarely examined and entered, and yet, always worked around and by, but nobody has taken the time to examine the far forgotten corners where hidden treasures from years gone by lay undiscovered for some time.

So it can be with genealogy as well.  Often we will do genealogy for years, months or even decades without looking back at some of the work we did long long ago.  We get in a rush at times when we get excited and aren't quite as thorough as we should have been.  Or, when we are new, we may not have yet standardized all our file types or file names, or simply made mistakes.

Maybe we have even hit a wall and do not know where else to research!  Or we are simply tired of doing research for a while.

Take a break, and have fun above all.  But if you're looking to do something "different", consider "cleaning house."

Go back and check your family file folders and make sure what is in there is supposed to be in there, and what belongs elsewhere gets put elsewhere.

Check that your backups work.

Check filenames that they are standardized.

Convert file formats if you want to (maybe you had stuff in JPEG and want it in TIFF).

Yamhill County Historical Society & Museum display from an outing

Round out your work on Findagrave and add necessary details and link family members if you want to.

Add a few things to your genealogy blog if you have one that maybe you want to archive a bit better.

Check your Legacy or Rootsmagic (or whatever software you use) files for errors and duplicates.

De-fragment your drives and run checkdisks for errors.

Do enough of this and you may find someplace new to head.

Chances are, meticulous as you've been, it is likely that you had a few other branches you could have headed down that you have also forgotten and doing a review will help you find a few things that are worthy of time and attention.

Beyond this, you could even take a genealogy class or go to a local museum in an area your family lived in just to walk through history!  It doesn't always have to be research!  Get out, try something different, and if needs be - go back and clean house!

So!  Bored? Stuck? Been awhile?  Try something different!

Using Obituaries to Find Other Clues!

Another example - this provides a lot of clues to search!

Obituaries are some of the most fruitful sources of information you'll find.

Why?

Well, how many people get a book written about their lives if they aren't famous? 

Not many.

But obituaries?  Far more common and they contain a wealth of information about survivors, life stories, marriages, geography, migrations, political service - you name it. Although the more prominent they are the more detailed info they will have in the obituary but nevertheless, these are treasure troves of info!

Remember when you get hung up on someone and are having a hard time finding info, don't just try an obituary, try the obituaries of their relatives to see if they turn up as being mentioned in them. 

For example, I'm hung up on looking for more info Jasper Walling and Nelson Walling and am looking for where to look for records for them.

here's an obituary summary I found from Ancestry.com on their father (which leads me to the original copies).

Summary of Obituary in 30 Aug 1897, The Daily Idaho Statesman

Death of J. B. Walling
He passes away peacefully at his home on the Avenue
Was Ill for Seven Years
Large number of Descendents
Funeral to Occur this Afternoon

Jerome B. Walling died yesterday morning at his residence on the Hot Springs Road after a lingering illness of nearly seven years. (Article goes on to relate the following facts in a narrative)
Born in New York on August 24, 1809
Age 9 (abt 1818) moved with parents to Meggs County, Ohio
1825 moved to Fulton County, Illinois
Served in the Black Hawk War under Captain Maxwell
Married Sarah Leverton in Fulton County, Ill on March 4, 1829
Mrs. Sarah Walling died on 2 Apr 1890 
1837 the family moved to Iowa
1848 the family moved to Yamhill County, Oregon
1850 elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature
1851 elected as a Yamhill County Commissioner and served for 4 years
1864 moved to the Boise Valley and resided there ever since
Was responsible for building the Walling Ditch which supplied irrigation water for land the city of Boise
Father of 16 children, 8 of whom survive him:  Lucy Loosley of Ft. Klamath, Or; Jeptha Walling of Tillamook, Or; Fletcher Walling of Salem, Or; Nelson Walling of Portland, Or;  Jerome Walling, California;  Mrs. Clara Mullancy, Glenns Ferry;  Mrs. Rosalie Gile Highland Valley, Idaho; Enos C. Walling, Boise.
75 Grandchildren and “goodly number” of great-grandchildren
Was a member of the Masonic Order for 60 years
“He showed good judgment and economy in his business transactions and always held the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens.”
Additional information about this story Description   Date 30 Jul 1897 Location Boise, Ada, Idaho, United States
Anyways, I found that Jasper was in California at the time of the Obituary, Nelson in Portland with a whole other treasure-trove of information!   About any of this could be a jumping off point for more research.

I got so frustrated looking for Nelson and Jasper that I went back to their dad's obituary and found a bit more info that I'd overlooked and was able to fan out a bit more as well as glean some more information I hadn't used to round out some other information (like his military service!).

If you get stuck, also go back to the beginning or try working through other relatives as well, sometimes this can open the door you're looking for!

Works Progress Administration Cemetery Indexes

alllll been written down....

The 1930's were a new era of federal government bureaucracies.  All sorts of projects sprung up under the federal government, from building dams, to fixing highways to....genealogy!

In the 1930's President Roosevelt's "New Deal" also included a provision to index graves in the United State through the Works Project Administration (WPA).  While the WPA was controversial and considered wasteful by many (it even funded depression era tap-dancing lessons to lift American's spirits!) and eventually was terminated, the work done by the WPA has greatly benefited many aspects of genealogy including grave indexes.

While there isn't a single WPA grave index available online, they are slowly making their way to the internet and being indexed digitally.

Personally, while I am very fond of Find A Grave because of the easy accessibility, my ability to interact with others, request photos, include photos, attach obituaries and link family members, it doesn't have everything in it.

So, if you find you get stuck looking for a grave, do an internet search for a WPA Cemetery Index for the county/state you're looking for and you might just strike gold!  From there you can add an entry to Find A Grave and submit a photo request to confirm the info contained in the index.

As always, if a grave is unmarked anymore, request a photo of the empty spot so that others in the future know not to go looking for it still.

LOST ANCESTOR! FOUND ANCESTOR! Asking for Help on the Web

One of the amazing resources I've found is Rootsweb online.  Rootsweb allows you to not only connect with mailing lists but also allows you to post questions that will often be seen by others working on the same line and get you some answers pretty quickly.

Rootsweb is free.

If you go to the Rootsweb Message Boards and go to the localities and categories towards the bottom - you can navigate your way through say the categories such as United States > States > Oregon > (unknown categories) Unknown > Begin New Thread and post a question that will usually get an answer.

I've had some amazing success this way, sometimes with more information than I can shake a stick at coming back at me from other genealogists.

One of the keys is to post a "well informed" query (Some guidelines and FAQ's here).   i.e. "Help me find my aunt!" isn't going to be of any use to anyone.

Here's a query I posted recently:
Delmar H Millican & Marie Sears Wedding? (1918)

I see in various censuses that Delmar H. Millican was married to his wife Marie (Millican) but am not able to find a marriage certification with her maiden name.

I have found both of them in the Oregon Marriage Index on the same date but not able to find their names together on a document.

Delmar H. Millican B~1897, Tillamook, Tillamook, OR
Marie (Sears?) Millican b~21 Nov 1901, California
Marriage 3 Aug 1918, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon

I've attached the Oregon Marriage Index for both names and the 1920 census, though that's pretty close for this work, if anyone has any more info on an actual wedding I'd be much obliged.

I immediately got a response from someone who had a better search of the Oregonian than I did:

Oregonian August 6, 1918 Page 16

DAILY CITY STATISTICS
MARRIAGE LICENSES

Millican-Sears - Delmar Millican 21, 499 North Twenty-First Street and Marie Sears, 18, 505 North Twenty-First Street

NOTE IN ALL THIS THE CITING OF SOURCES (I included a census so they can see the dates, locations and such) and they cited dates and pages and sources.

Now from here I might use this info to go find their headstones!  I could've found their headstones first or visa versa but always use one bit of research to find your next!

Document document document document document!  Genealogy without sources or documentation is mythology!

Another resource is to connect with people via Facebook and Ancestry and Family Search and Findagrave and any way that you can! I use facebook primarily for social networking and make sure that what I post is professional-enough to be shared with the world.  I've connected with 5th cousins who still have my last name and who are now members of the church and work on opposite ends of the family tree together.

 Use social networks!

To see an example of a "Well informed Querry" on Rootsweb, there's this link - here:

http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.california.unknown/13419.1/mb.ashx

You'll notice not only is the post "well informed" (anyone can look at it and know just about exactly what is going on or where to start looking) but I also attached copies of the documents I obtained my information from in both screen shots and file-saves (See this entry on screen shots and file saving formats).

The key in this case anyone can download a high-resolution picture of the files I uploaded, check my work, verify it for themselves, and in one case I was told I read the document wrong!  Had I not had a high-resolution image and a copy of the original, I might not have gotten that info!

Some genealogy is like this....always verify people know what they are talking about..

Coats of Arms, Heraldry & Family History

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander". The word, in its most general sense, encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms.To most, though, heraldry is the practice of designing, displaying, describing, and recording coats of arms and heraldic badges (To continue the article on this topic visit Wikipedia.)


Briefly, a "coat of arms" refers to a design on a shield or covering or coat over armor that identified you in battle - while you were in "arms" or ready for war. The European art of heraldry is nearly a thousand years old but is still practiced today in Europe.

According to England's College of Arms, there is no such thing as a coat of arms for a surname. The College of Arms states that unrelated families with the same surname will be entitled to completely different coats of arms and many will be entitled to no coat of arms. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms, they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

England's King Henry passed laws prohibiting the free design and wearing of armorial bearings, or personal coats of arms. In 1483, King Edward IV established the College of Arms--or Heralds' College--to "oversee and regulate the granting of coats of arms."

However, a coat of arms can provide some insight into some of your family history research and tell you a bit about where you came from. Remember your ancestry didn't end or begin with your coat of arms, and you're related to many more than just one name and the coat of arms may have been from a lineage you aren't descended from.

If you happen to find your particular ancestry's coat of arms you may be able to find some sweet memorabilia related to it at House of Names.

Some other resources can provide a bit of insight into the meanings on the coats of arms.

Have fun with this fascinating aspect of family history!

Genealogy By Nation - Working in Other Countries

Just a bit of diversity...

Every country and culture has its own unique rules and contexts for doing genealogy in.  Even in the United States of America, different cultures are going to present different research issues in general (and specific individuals will present specific research issues within the general framework context), as are different geographical areas.  For example, Native Americans are different from White Americans in culture, meanwhile, you're making a mistake if you assume all White Americans share the same culture, language, views, history or practices.  Similarly with Native Americans.  African Americans aren't all from Africa.  African American is actually a "pop culture" phrase that isn't always accurate because there are many Blacks who are from the Carribean (i.e. Haiti) and even South America who aren't from Africa but are identified as such, similarly, Egyptians are litarally from Africa but may not be considered "African American" here in America.  This is just our modern age, never mind what you're working with going back in time!


The Church has put out a training website on many individual countries with links to lessons for working within those countries. 

Also, Cyndi's List has an alphabetized list of links, training and resources for a lot of countries.  If you're looking to work within Italy, for example, go down and click on "I" on her webpage and see the Italian links.

Remember, not all countries are going to have a lot of work done or going on in them depending on history or current world conditions (e.g. Democratic Republic of Congo), this is why I stick to the "low hanging fuit" and work primarily in the United States of America presently so I can accomplish more in less time with less effort and set aside more difficult stuff for a time when more is readily available.  But if you wish to head back overseas in your family tree?  Know before you go! 

Paying for Genealogy Websites?

Genealogy is the number one use for the internet.  Surprised?  I would have thought it was Facebook or Youtube but actually in terms of a general purpose, more genealogy is done online than any other hobby or pastime.

At some point in your genealogical journeys you're going to come across websites that want you to pay for access to their services (Ancestry.com for example).

Some websites are completely worth paying for (Ancestry.com for example). (Before you spend the full money on Ancestry, check out the Oregon Genealogy Forum where with membership you get an Ancestry subscription for a fraction of the cost)

Others?  Well, it depends.

On what, you ask?

Well it depends on your focus, your needs and your purposes.

My genealogy?  I'm primarily interested in getting enough documentation to submit names to the temples and just document a family tree while focusing on the low-hanging-fruit, while stories and photos are optional bonuses for me.  That means I find a lot of readily available info through obituaries, censuses and headstones that are publicly available and don't require me to become a Genealogy-Jedi specializing in Scottish-Clan-History.

For all of this, in terms of paid subscriptions I get along very well with an Ancestry.com and Archives.com subscriptions, use my Multnomah County Library Card for newspaper archive access online, and my free account at Findagrave and a bunch of other websites (at the right of the page) and I'm good to go.  I don't use Archives very much or get too much from it, but it was a fairly cheap subscription for a year and I've gotten a few things from it.

If you want actual copies of documents such as death certificates, you're usually going to have to pay for those from the State Archives, though you can go in person to the Capitol here in Oregon in the Archives and just pay for the copies - cheaper than ordering them online - more work but worth it.

Here's the guidelines I use on investments (or other endeavors) to determine whether it's a good investment and this works for genealogy as well.  It's called the NUDE model (it could be called the DUNE model so as not to offend sensibilities, but in my business line we tend to assess novelty before dependability because then we know what we're talking about first so we can decide if its useful next - the order is a progressive order this way).

To subscribe or not to subscribe, that's the question

• N = Novelty - how unique is what I'm paying for?  If you can get it somewhere else for free (New Family Search?) why pay for it?  Is their stuff so rare you can't get it anywhere else and do you NEED it?

• U=Utility - how useful is it?  It might be cool for genealogy but is it going to help you?  It might be rare but is it useful?

• D=Dependability - does it do what it says it will for what you need?

• E=Economy - do you get what you pay for?

Remember again, there are tens-of-millions of genealogy websites.  If you're going to pay for something, make sure you're going to use it, need it and can't get the stuff anywhere else for less.
I.E. don't pay $100 for a website that has only one document you're going to use unless you need to.

When you're brand new it might be tempting to throw money at every website that comes along (or be overwhelmed because you can't afford to) to find what you need, but as your experience increases you'll learn more what you absolutely need and what you do not.

Marriage & Searching For Women Ancestors

As was talked about in the entry on the censuses(eses) finding women ancestors can be difficult.

In future years working with women will be easier as more documentation is released in our modern society, but for the time-frame we generally deal with in genealogy (born +110 years ago) women weren't allowed to vote or own property for the majority of the world's existence and across the majority of the world's geography.  Additionally, their names changed with their marriages.  So on your family research fully one-half of your research is going to involve searching for people whose names changed at some point and there isn't always a record of when or where it happened or what it got changed to. This makes finding women particularly difficult in many instances.

Make sure you get my mustache in the center....

Historically, marriage was more than just a religious institution or a matter of love but a means for economic and temporal survival.  Even more often, marriage was a means of conveying land, preserving titles and family lines and this varied from culture to culture.  Marriage was very often a matter of function more than love.

The marriage of a younger woman to an older man was the norm in an age gone by as by then the man would have established himself and have a means to provide for his new wife and her youthfulness made her physically able to bear children and care for him in his older age.  It wasn't uncommon for an ailing veteran in his very last years to marry a girl of fifteen or so in order to give her his pension for the remainder of her life in order for him to be cared for in his dying days.  She would then re-marry and bring the pension with her into a new marriage.

Further complicating things is the issue that women married more than once very often.  Two and three marriages aren't unusual with harsh frontier lives.  Meanwhile death in childbirth would often leave men widowers with children later with step-mothers and the husband married multiple times.

Meanwhile, many censuses wouldn't record the names of anyone but the head of the household or there may have been a common-law marriage in various frontiers and so there may not have been a record of the marriage with relatives seemingly "coming from nowhere."  As a bit of trivia the youngest marriage contracted in the Oregon Territory was at 3 years of age (Fact I learned at the Oregon Trail visitor's center).

In your genealogical research you'll find eras in world marriage history that make the 1980's look like eras of marital stability.

But what to do and how to find your women ancestors when their marriages aren't listed on censuses with their maiden names? 

One trick I've came up with works pretty well.  I knew for example that the marriage took place in Multnomah County, Oregon.  So I did a search of the Oregon Marriage index which doesn't always  list the groom and the bride together, but searched for just the bride under her maiden name and found the date she was married. 

Then I searched the index for *all* marriages on just that date in the same place (Multnomah County) and pulled out all the grooms names for that date and location.

Actually this couple almost looks happy

Then I searched for husband / wife combos under the married name until I found a document with the bride's first name and *a* husband off that list who was married that date.  I would correlate other info that I knew about the wife to see if that was indeed them, and would come up with *the* match I was looking for.

Previously what had been a dead-end was suddenly turning up names left and right and yielding a lot of fruit.

Later I found the bride marrying again under her married name and was able to find a second marriage which led me to the death of the first husband, and then her headstone with this info and then her obituary off the headstone info and used that to find other family marriages and married names.

It's all about using info that will lead you to other sources of info.

Other documents that will yield marriages are death certificates short of a marriage certificate, and newspapers often carried weddings depending on the era that you are working in, there are also wills, letters and stories if you can find them.  If you're working backwards, obituaries carry a lot of info.  Cemeteries and headstones will often have a maiden name in them for you to try searching by.

Additionally, middle-names can yield clues as to a matriarchal lineage as daughters often would be named after their grandmother or have their mothers first name as a middle name.

Becoming proficient at this will yield a lot of results but the key is to not get too hung up on a difficult line, keep learning, and be persistent and patient.  Don't forget to pray!

For more info on how to research women in genealogy - click here.

Working Overseas: British Isles Genealogy

While it is very tempting to see just how far back you can go, one of the difficulties I've found with American genealogy is that most of our ancestors?  Came from somewhere else. 

And between here and there (usually) are two big oceans and very often a bunch of different languages.

This in mind, as my English / Irish / Scottish ancestry has been here so long (1620) and most recently I'm second generation French/Italian American, I've had some choices to make in terms of my family history.

I've decided that generally I'm not going to do extensive genealogy overseas for a few reasons (you have to decide for yourself what you wish to do).

One is the issue of languages - I don't speak but one other language of my ancestry fluently enough to allow me to work with foreign language documents without extensive and time consuming help from Google Translate.

The other is that of resources.  Going to my local historical museum in Alto Pascio, Toscanna, Italy for a day visit just isn't in the cards.

HOWEVER, I speak good English really well!  And resources for American genealogy are abundant for me here which means I can contribute much more to the work by working and staying here in America than I can by about anything I'd do going overseas.  That and its less expensive to work here primarily.

So unless I find a family tree or a treasure trove that takes me overseas fairly effortlessly, I've personally decided to focus here in the United States.

But I did find a UK website for British Isles Genealogy if you're interested in doing some work over there as a place to start without having to purchase the international subscription of Legacy (which is free at Family History Centers).  Additionally, Cyndi's List has an extensive link to the UK  as well as New Family Search has some resources as well.

Some things to know about the UK.

Often, the Canadians, New Zealanders, Irish etc., are all called "British" in some records.

Britain is the name of the island.
Britania is the ancient name for the island nation.
England is one of the countries there.
The United Kingdom consists of the constituent countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The Commonwealth or Commonwealth of Nations, formerly the British Commonwealth consists of those nations who recognize the Queen of Enland, Elizabeth Windsor as their monarch, and as of this writing consists of 54 member nations.

Have fun!

Looking For The Patriot: Colonial Wars & Records

Before America was an independent nation, a number of wars were fought on this continent between the European powers often called "Colonial Wars." Chances are pretty good that somewhere you're related to or descended from someone who fought in those wars on one side or the other. This is an overview of the wars with a bit of genealogy on some of the larger wars. For a complete listing of wars as well as some great resources, click HERE. What follows are some of the more notable wars.

COLONIAL WARS

• King Philip's War  1675-76 (History)
• King Philip's War Genealogy

 King Philips War was named after one of the native chiefs who was called "King Philip" It was very violent and the most devastating of all wars.  Nearly drove all the English out of the North American continent.  There were 90 English settlements, 52 attacked, 12 completely totally destroyed by the natives. In this war, the natives were using fire-arrows into the log cabins and they just BURNED!  As the people fled, the natives killed them, if they didn't flee, they went in and killed them.  King Philip was defeated ultimately.

• King William's War 1689-97(History)
• King William's War Genealogy

King William’s War (the first of the French and Indian Wars) began in New England as an extension of the war between England and France, when in July 1689 the French governor of Canada incited the Indians to brutally attack Dover, N.H., then known as Cochecho.

• Queen Anne's War 1702-13 (history)
• Queen Anne's War Genealogy Links

This time, France, England, Natives AND SPAIN on the American continent around the New York area. (Trivia: America used to be known as "Columbia" after Christopher Columbus, with the "ia" generally meaning "land of" - or land discovered by Columbus - eventually being called America in reference to the explorer Amerigo Vespucci).

• King George's War 1744-48 (History)
• King George's War Genealogy

 Back to between England, France and the Natives but up over the Acadian Peninsula this time, the fourth of a series of wars between France and England and the natives, while it ended in 1748, it left many unresolved territorial disputes that resulted in further wars such as the...



 

• French and Indian War 1754-63(History)
• French and Indian War Genealogy

The French and Indian War was a seven-year war between England and the American colonies, against the French and some of the Indians in North America. When the war ended, France was no longer in control of Canada. The Indians that had been threatening the American colonists were defeated. This war had become a world war. British Colonists wanted to take over French land in North America. The British wanted to take over the fur trade in the French held territory and colonists fully participated in this war. Both these facts were to have a profound effect on the future of the colonies.

British soldiers fought against French soldiers and Native Americans. Native Americans joined in the battle against the British because they were afraid the British would take over their land.

The War officially came to an end on February 10, 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. France officially ceded all of its holdings in North America, east of the Mississippi; while regaining the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The most long lasting effect of the war was not negotiated between the parties rather, it was the effect the war had on the American colonies. The cost of the war and of controlling the newly acquired territories was high. The British looked to the colonies to help pay those costs. That began the long spiral of events that led to the Revolution.

However, lest the causes of the revolution be watered down to simply England expected colonists to pay taxes, and the colonists throwing a child-like temper tantrum refused, see the Declaration of Independence for a list of grievances that sparked the American Revolution.

• Revolutionary War: 1775-83(History)
• Revolutionary War Genealogy.

Was actually a civil war between English loyalists and English separatists or revolutionaries.  Those loyal to the King moved across the St. Lawrence river into Canada, some stayed permanently and others came back after a few generations, into Michigan and other northern states.  

You may find relatives from Ohio, Illinois, etc., who look like they came from "nowhere" - check the New England Register and see if they were there before the Revolution and then left for Canada.

Most important records from this war are the pension records.  Those pensions lasted a LONG time.  Often old ailing veterans would marry a 15 or 16 year old girl to care for him and when he died, she got the pension for the rest of her life which means a fifteen year old girl could marry a man who was a boy in the Colonial Militias as a drummer or other position, he might be 70 or so in the 1850's and then she live another sixty years beyond that.

Indexes to the revolutionary war records are found in the State Archives. You can get name, birth, serial number and physical description of individual veterans. Physical descriptions were used to identify corpses in the wars.

If you don't find the pension records, it may just mean that he didn't take the pension or didn't need it and he was healthy and went on his way.

No single archive is going to hold all the records.

Don't forget to check the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution Home Pages (On the right of this webpage). 

Three kinds of pensions were given:

• Disability/invalid - suffered physical disabilities in the line of duty.

• Service pensions - stayed in for a time - like a retirement

• Widows pension - for wives who's husbands were killed or he got it for a certain period of time and she was entitled to it for the rest of his life.

From 1776-1878 this law was changed on the widows 14 times. Widows were offered a pension if he was alive and in the service when married.  Examples of changes in the laws:

1838 - she received a pension if married before January of 1794
1848 - pensions were given if married before 2 January of 1800
1853 - all restrictions relative to date of widows marriage were eliminated (married in time?  She gets the money)

A fire in 1800 - destroyed almost all the pension records in the war department. Other records available however as talked about above.


New England Historical Genealogical Register: Contains all the records from the time the pilgrims landed at Plymouth until the Revolution.

General Military Terms

1. Volunteer - "Take me I want to go!"
2. Conscription - "I'm not going" "Oh yes you are!"
3. Draft - got a lot of volunteers by those who were trying to avoid certain duties imposed by the draft - i.e. if you don't want to serve in the Army in Vietnam you can volunteer for the Air National Guard Reserve as a secretary in a military library in Oklahoma, one weekend a month, two weeks a year.

For more military entries click on the tag "Military" on the right under "Tags n' Topics"

Genealogy Tip: FOCUS!

Genealogy is not an exact science.

You will have to look for clues and be open to possibilities and “develop leads.”  You'll run into “dead ends” and even have “cold cases” that lie for years before something comes up that you need. Other times you'll have fantastic finds and treasure troves of success!

To make work easier – focus on one family at a time. Meaning, one set of parents and their children at a time, or one individual.  It's very easy to go “hog wild” and run down roads of links and get lost in the work and end up with a mess you can't sort out.

As you find info, you're going to come across other branches of family.  Save them as you come across them but keep focused on the family or individual you're working on so that you can complete your work.  Take your time to verify your work and document it in your family tree software as you go.

Meanwhile, don't get so hung up on an elusive/difficult individual that you completely stop working on your family tree.

Some info may not be available yet.  Sometimes you'll need to take a break. If you feel like you're not having success, set that person aside and try someone or something else!

Think Outside the Box!!!

Some branches of family history are going to be easier to track and find than others.
The easiest records to find are those of white, male property owners, government officials, of royal descent or historical figures.

Meanwhile, often in genealogy there's a tendency to focus on “Going back.” Don't forget you can also branch out to the sides and come back to the future – or at least the present! Marriages, cousins, in-laws, all are part of your family that you can add to your tree!  Don't get totally hung up on just “going back.”