Genealogy Recap 2011

• Met three Gates cousins for lunch and they only live an hour from me.
• Presented a Case Study for my genealogy society on "The Four Riddell Brothers and the Civil War"
• Completed the ProGen Study Group for Progen8
• Connected with a new Riddell cousin I did not know I had and he helped me solve a 5 year brick wall.
• Learned to use Roots Magic
• Took several small business development courses

Busy Summer!

I have been keeping my son entertained all summer.  He played football on Thursday with his youth group and we took a class together.  He went to Vet Tech camp and liked it but he said he was a little disappointed that it was not more about cats and dogs.

I managed to fit in a few ProGen assignments along the way.... I did my marketing plan and I am now working on my business plan.  There are not too many left in the Sunday group for ProGen7.

We went to Prescott and I planned to see the genealogy collection at the Prescott Valley Library but I went on a day that the Genealogy Library in Prescott Valley was closed.  We went to the Sharlot Hall Museum and other historical spots as well as Lynx Lake and Goldwater Lake.

One of the things I really enjoyed was the night hike at the Heritage Nature Center as part of their "Bug a Boo Bliss".  The stars were amazing!


Fall is finally here!  My dear boy went back to school today. I miss him already!

Census Questions, Questionairres and Publications

http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/

The U.S. Census Bureau has the census questions that were asked for all the census years:  Click on the URL above.  You will see the History section, click on the tab "Through the Decades" and then click on "Index of Questions"  Also included in the "Through the Decades" tab are the questionnaires  and Census Instructions. (This is also available as a PDF: http://www.census.gov/history/pdf/measuringamerica.pdf with more detailed information on Census history.

The U.S. Census Bureau Publications: in PDF
I also found a publication from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding their Genealogy Program.  http://www.census.gov/history/pdf/uscisgenealogyprogram.pdf

The USGS publication: Using Maps in Genealogy

US Dept of Commerce; Factfinder for the Nation, Census, Availability of Census Records about Individuals.

Review of "Portal of Texas History" Website

The Portal of Texas  History site: http://texashistory.unt.edu/ allows you to narrow your search to narrow your search by resource type, county and decade.  For a test name I entered Riddell.  You can narrow decade results by clicking on the more button for earlier decades.  I am interested in the Civil War Era.  A slider button allows you to adjust the size of your selected scanned item.  The image viewer allows you to view four pages in sequence.  You can get the results highlighted but it seems cumbersome to figure out how to do have the image viewer do this.

Potter, Coon, Wescott, Knapp, Darling Family Coonnections

 Repost from a post I made  at http://genforum.genealogy.com/potter/messages/6486.html

Ichabod Potter (1753-1845 Manlius, Onondaga Co., New York) +Eleanor
Stokes Potter b. on 16 Dec 1720 in Dartmouth, Bristol, MA. Died in 1808 in Westpport, Bristol, MA)
Zebedee Potter (6 Oct 1753 Tiverton, Rhode Island, d. 08 Dec 1845, Manlius, Onondaga Co. NY) +Phebe Durfee
John Potter (b. btw. 1775-1783 Rhode Island or MA; Died before 1860 in Otisco, Onondaga, NY) + Rosamond Taber (Rev war 1775-1780)
Sarah Potter (b. 21 Jan 1820 in NY, died in Wisconsin+Simon Wescott
Julius Delos Wescott marriage 2 to Ada Coon
(I am descended from Ada Coon’s first marriage to Francis Darling Riddell)

I would like to know about: Please contact me if you have any further information on Darling/Potter/Wescott.

David Potter $460[I have three Potters related by marriage in my genealogy Harriet Potter 1823, Wisconsin; Sarah Potter who married Simon Wescott; and another Sarah Potter married to Andrew Darling, I am unsure how if how David Potter is related to these individuals, another person to research][Arms 92] see footnote 1 below

1. Arms, William Tyler and Masha E. Arms. The History of Leyden Massachusetts 1676-1959. The Enterprise and Journal. Orange, Massachusetts. 1959. p. 93, 96. (Georgina Cole Library, 974.422 H2 ARM.)

I believe there are even more mystery "Potters" in my collateral lines. I will provide info on these when I research further. There may be some in my Gates (New London, Connecticut line - Leyden, Massachusettes- Peter Gates)

Coon/Potter of Jefferson county, Palmyra, Wisconsin
I found three incidences of Coons and Potters:

*1850 Census: Palmyra, Jefferson, Wisconsin
Coon, Leander (son of Ephriam Coon)
married Harriet (?) whose first marriage was to a Potter
Harriet's children from her first marriage are listed in the 1850 census as in the household of Leander Coon:
Francis Potter
Henry Potter
Orilla Potter

* Marana Knapp (18 March 1908 buried in Hillside Cemetery, Palmyra, WI) was married to Ephriam Coon
Is Marana related to the following Knapps in Palmyra?

Orvilla Knapp- did she marry Stacey Potter?
Sylvanus Knapp

*Simon Wescott married to Sarah Potter (genealogy detailed at the beginning of this Email.)
child was Julius Delos Wescott who married Ada Riddell (nee Coon)

This one is just for Potter:

*Sarah Potter married Andrew Darling (b. 1748) in Gloucester, Rhode Island

Hiram Coon Research Report Introduction

Whew!  I have been working on a really long research report on the Coon family. 

Before this branch of my tree landed in Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wisconsin they lived in  Manlius, Onondaga County, New York and they came to Wisconsin with a large group of related persons and family friends to Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wisconsin.  Lura Dow daughter of Oliver Parker Dow (brother to Eliza Dow) was quoted in Dodge/Jefferson County Genealogical Society's publication "Out on a Limb"

                                      “The first that I know anything about were what I would call “our folks”.  There were quite a bunch of them.  They came from Chenango county, NY... some were brothers and sisters-in-laws, cousins, etc., probably. They were Mr. and Mrs. Albertus Knapp, Mr. and Mrs. John Morrison, Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Graves, Mr and Mrs. Elizer Graves."(Out on A Limb)

  

 One of the avenues I intend to investigate further will hopefully answer the question: Who exactly was included in the group of people who migrated from New York to Palmyra, WI?  

 I wrote a draft of the report on Hiram Coon (it is about 26 pages long) and The rest of the report is waiting for peer review (ProGen 8) at the end of this month. What follows are the names and dates for the subject and his family.

The subject under investigation is Hiram Coon born on 13 November 1819 in Manlius, Onondaga, New York and Died 4 October 1875 in Palmyra, Jefferson, Wisconsin and his first wife Achsah Moore (1816-1846). Hiram’s second wife was Anna Eliza Dow born 19 June 1825 and their children:

Elvira C. Coon born 3 August 1848 in Mendon, Monroe County, New York and died in 1916. Elvira married Robert Charley

Susan Coon was born on 21 Sept 1853 and died 22 July 1910 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.  Susan married James Wrightson Congdon. (see appendix for timeline) child: Mirah Coon

Frank W. Coon was born on 7 May 1854. He married Agnes Swinton

Ada Martina Coon born 12 January 1855 in Palmyra, Jefferson, Wisconsin and died 1 January 1928 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. Married first, Francis Darling Riddell (1854-1905) on 19 August 1876 and second, married Julius Delos Wescott (Westcott) on 25 March 1893.

Anna Eliza Coon was born in 27 February 1844 and died on 7 June 1920, Anna married Frank Edward Donaldson

Marana Coon (b. 1840) married [?] Knapp (Socolich)

(note from gs: Please note that the bolded individuals are my direct line.)

1. Out on A Limb, page 10] [Dodge/Jefferson Counties Genealogical Society, Inc. Genealogy Newsletter, Out on a Limb. Volume 20 No. 1. February 2005. From the Jefferson County Union, Wilbur, S.D. 1924.)

2.  Socolich, Gwynn. Research Report on Hiram Coon, Introduction to Subject.

Selected State Repositories with selected counties

Document Archives:   I created these files a while ago: Let me know if you find any broken links:

Wisconsin

http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/wisconsin.html

Illinois
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/illinois.html

Maryland
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/maryland.html

Massachusetts
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/massachusettes.html

New Hampshire
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/new_hampshire.html

New York
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/new_york.html

Pennsylvania
http://gsocolic.tripod.com/html/pennsylvania.html

Click on the web Url to see which counties are covered.

Researching Hiram Coon Family of Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wisconsin

I am working on a project for the Coon family (1840 - 1950) as one of my assignments for the Pro Gen study group and plan to post it as soon as I have feedback from my group and have omitted living people. One of my online contacts is a cousin who has the original Coon Bible, family letters and photographs. She was gracious to send me copies of these and photos of the Bible.

I have a few letters written by Thomas Riddell Sankey (my grandfather) to various relatives that gave me clues to family relationships and helped me get started several years ago on the Coon family. The Dow family was also prominent in this area of Wisconsin. There are two items that won't be included in my analysis of sources: I have family photos which include other Palmyra, Jefferson, Wisconsin notables such as Washburn. I also have two letters written by Mirah Congdon to Thomas Riddell Sankey from 1949. In this letter she mentions George Riddell of Jacumba California (my great grandmother's brother who is buried in Fort Roscrans National Cemetery, San Diego County, San Diego) and Ada Charley (Palmyra) who lived at Route 1, Eagle, Wisconsin. Ada Charley was probably the daughter of Ada Coon's sister. (Ada Coon was the mother of Harriet (nee Riddell) Sankey and Ada was Hiram Coon's daughter.) Mirah (Congdon)wrote about family friends who she says are all of her generation in Palmyra Ethel Gates Bannerman, Alice Carlin, Emma Fairbrother Carlin. A letter from Nina Fisher whose grandmother was Susan Coon (sister of Ada Coon) in which Nina writes that she joined the DAR (so there should be an application on file...) and she tells of the Dow genealogy.(Ada Coon's mother's direct line)

The Dows came from Hollis and Hudson, New Hampshire and the Coons came from Manlius, Onondaga, New York to Palmyra, Jefferson, Wisconsin.

Jefferson County Wisconsin
(1850-1924) Other surnames from this time period in Jefferson County, Palmyra, Wisconsin:
Direct lines: Riddell, Bunker, Westcott, Dow, Thayer
Collateral Lines: Charley, Donaldson, Reisen, Wrightson,Congdon, Knapp, Woodruff, Knapp, Moore, Pattee, Brisbin, Avery, Boss, Pattee, Swinton, Bishop, McShane, Malcolmson, Brockway, Potter, Schultz, Phillips
I have quite a bit of info on Carlin family but not sure how they are related or if they were just family friends of the Dows.

New Discovery.... Article about Chicago Genealogy and Railroads

This is truly a thrilling discovery for me. I have three ancestors that worked on the Chicago North West Railroad during their life times.
http://www.examiner.com/genealogy-in-chicago/whose-been-working-on-the-railroad-a-genealogy-gem-berwyn-il

Christian DeYoung
1892: marriage certificate: ) marriage certificate: Dec 20, 1892. Christian's father is listed as John (could be Jan depending on how Dutch sounds when pronounced) DeYoung; Christian's Mother: Catharina Wassamarr (or Wassenaar) born in Holland. Wife's maiden name is: Jane Hausman.
Registration of Marriages: No. 495
name of husband: Christian DeYoung
name of father of husband: John DeYoung
name of mother of husband before marriage: Catharina Wassaman (or Wassamar) (Friesland, Dutch Archives website: spelling: Wassenaar)
Occupation of husband: Foreman on Railroad
residence of husband: Waukegan, IL
Birthplace of Husband: Holland
Full name of wife previous to marriage: Jane Hauseman, name of mother of wife: Hille Schilsten; Birthplace of wife: Holland: Date Marriage was contracted: Dec 1, 1892; Place or town, and county where marriage was contracted: Racine, Racine Co. WI
Names of subscribing witnesses: John Schlitz and Nellie Schlitz; name of person pronouncing marriage: CK Percival (Racine WI) Dec 15, 1892: Date of registration: Dec 20, 1892. Source: Marriage Certificate, Racine County, City of Racine Courthouse
working as a foreman of Irish and Mexican gangs who laid Chicago Northwestern Railroad in the late 1890's." (page 14) (Christian DeYoung helped build the Chicago NorthWestern Railroad when he brought his PARENTS from Holland to Racine, my mother's birthplace"(page 2)Source: Alice Sankey. Hey Don't Write Me Off . Unpublished Manuscript and interview with Alice Sankey on January 30, 2001
(Alice was my grandmother)

Philip Dahlberg and Gustav Dahlberg:
1903-1906: Illinois, Cook County, Chicago: worked with his step father (Gustave Dahlberg) as a carpenter and on Chicago Northwest Railroad in dining car. [Alice Sankey. "Hey Dont Write Me Off". Unpublished Manuscript.]

This month's assignment for ProGen Transcription

I felt a little intimidated by this assignment! I really enjoyed it after I got into it. I was unsure if I needed to put all that survey info (Chains and links anyone?) into my abstract. My friend who teaches a course on Land Records for our local genealogy society suggested that I keep the survey info in addition to the land description. I really like deeds because I worked with auditing deeds in mortgage banking. You never know what skills you will need later! Mortgage banking helped me understand some of the legalism that we find in deeds. I look forward to my group comments on my transcription. One transcription I could not do was a monument inscription in Europe. It was in Latin. My friend who is a writer helped me with it by working on it with her daughter when she was homeschooling and learning Latin. They tackled it together. Now we know what that Riddell family member did. I have other things I need to transcribe but mostly they are family letters and one of the other Riddell items has already been transcribed at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/malquery.html search for Key word: John L. Riddell to Abraham Lincoln
Letter is dated December 1863: This one is already transcribed. John Leonard Riddell was my direct ancestor's brother. If you would like to know more about this interesting character please contact me by email and I will be happy to share with you.

My Transitional Genealogy Steps

Hobby Genealogist: Several years personal genealogy research. Volunteered at Genealogical Society as Photo Archivist, Lost Treasures Chairperson and library volunteer; read blogs for new developments in the field, blogging my research results, updating my website. Scanning and fixing Civil War photos from my own collection.(Photoshop Elements)

1. Genealogy seminars from local genealogical societies and Genealogy Conferences like Jamboree, bus trips to Los Angeles Public Library.
2. Join Association for Professional Genealogists (has directory) and the Southern California Chapter
3. Join the APG forum
4. Pro Gen Study Group - I really like this because we have a CG as a mentor and we can bounce ideas off each other and get feedback.
5. SBDC business classes-- They provide a mentor after the classes to get you started.
6. The Transitional Genealogist Forum was helpful but email intensive so I had to unsubscribe.
7. Future: NGS home study course; conferences as I can afford them.
8. Future volunteer: Unclaimed Persons Group volunteer and possibly Find A Grave volunteer photographer.

Getting Orginized Sate Research Guides

I finally made a large binder for all those genealogy articles I have collected.
So far I have collected some state guides for:
-Virginia...on the Virginia/Pennsylvania boundary dispute in 1681-1785 where both states claimed the same land. One of those areas was in what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania where I am trying to locate my ancestor Aneas Graham who was the father of Alexander Graham. Alexander Graham was the father of my direct ancestor DeWitt Clinton Graham (of Monongahela)
-Illinois, where my grandmother Alice Sankey was born. Also in Illinois: Kramer, Stonequist, Dahlberg, Nauta (Swedish and Dutch ancestors)in Chicago.
-Massachusetts, where my Dow, Thayer, Riddell, Gates, Darling families resided before the Revolutionary war until about 1850.
-Missouri; where my ancestor Christian DeYoung homesteaded according to family tradition. (I am still working on this one.)
-Ohio, where my Graham, Ward, Pementor, Malcolm, Andrews, Byal, Hawkins, Graff, Palm, and Rowland ancestors lived.
-Pennsylvania (other than Graham mentioned earlier in this post): Applegate, Behanna, Sankey, Runkle, Gilliland, Cowden, Sankey(Centre County), McChesney, Adams, Rose, Lewis, Hawkins, Byal ancestors.
-Wisconsin: Riddell, Dow, Coon, Pattee, Congdon, Bodish, Wescott, Avery, DeYoung, Corrigan, Donaldson, Moore, Knapp, Dahlberg, Sankey, Kramer, DeYoung(Step Dad's family: Bartnicki, Luczynski)

Happy New Year

Our tradition for the last three years has been to watch Groucho Marx movies and toast with Martinelli's at midnight. This year I did not fall asleep at 10 pm as I have in the past. Also, we always watch the Rose Bowl Parade. My step sister works on at least fifteen of the floats. I don't know which ones she worked on this year. Unfortunately, I slept until 9am and missed half of the parade.

One of the things I would like to do again is to pull apart the British "cracker". These nifty noise makers make a "pop" like the old fashioned pop guns and are filled with little toys and paper hats. It is great fun for kids of any age.