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Friday, December 7, 2012

West Virginia Genealogy Source

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History has information on West Virginia records in their "Archives and History News" Subject Index.  Here you can find tips and clues for researching West Virginia or pre West Virginia folks who were Virginians.  The subjects include: Adjutant General Papers,  Archival Collections, Birth Records, Cemeteries,  Civil War, County Records, Death Records, Deeds, Statehood and many more subject of interest to genealogists.  "Archives and History News" is the newsletter for the WV Division of Culture and History
http://www.wvculture.org/history/ahnews/ahnewssubjectindex.html

I am researching William Ward of Hardy County Virginia who I believe was possibly born in 1782 and who married Sarah Shobe 19 February 1804.  Hardy County was created in 1786 from Hampshire County, Virginia.  Hardy County became part of West Virginia on October 24, 1861.


I followed the trail of land records from the BLM GLO.

 In 1808 William Ward of Franklin County purchased land in Amelia, Fairfield, Ohio.

William is also found on the 1830 Census for  Amelia, Fairfield County, Ohio.

WIlliam Ward  of Fairfield County, Ohio purchases land in Putnam County in 1838. (Note that is also where my ancestor Edward Ward resided). Also, found in the same section at the same time is Christian Miller.  Christian Miller is also found in the section just North of where Margaret Miller (Edward Ward's wife) is buried.  It is unknown whether Edward Ward is buried there and Margaret Miller's stone has been badly damaged.  Also in the same cemetary isburied John M. Ward who died Dec 19, 1878 aged 20 years 3 months.   The cemetary is "Wisely Cemetery" 40.9428,-84.018 (GPS coordinates) it is near Cranberry Creek.

Christian Miller records from BLM GLO are as follows:  1807 Military Warrant of 100 Acres in Lot 50 in the Military District. 7 North, 16W Section 2.

1820 Christian Miller of Perry County, Ohio in Ohio River Survey.
1835 Christian Miller of Perry County buys land in Fairfield County, Ohio.
1837 Christian Miller of Fairfield County, Ohio buys land in Putnam County, Ohio.

Also in Putnam County at the same time was James Ward also of Fairfield County, Ohio in 1838 same date as William Ward.

Edward Ward was born about 1794.  Could William possibly be his brother or other relative?

My next steps are to figure out who Williams parents were.

For the history of Putnam County, Columbus Grove (Pleasant)
see http://www.columbusgrove.org/history.htm


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Book Review: Firestorm at Peshtigo Wisconsin

I am reading a book suggested by a San Diego Genealogical Society Member. The title is "Firestorm at Peshtigo" and the authors are Denise Gess and William Lutz.  I have some ancestors from Door County, Wisconsin which was partially affected by this fire.  There are maps included in the book as research which was done on individuals involved in the area of Peshtigo.  I recognized the surname of Luther Noyes who was the publisher of Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle.  His parents were Dr. Isaac Noyes and Minerva Osgood.  He was born on December 17, 1830.  He was from the Chenango county which is the same county in which my ancestor Dr. George Riddell was born in Preston.
"The History of Chenango" lists several persons of the Noyes surname who resided in the county.
There are details about the following individuals in the book as well William Butler Ogden and Mahlon D. Ogden (also of Chicago), Isaac Stephenson of Marinettee and Menominee.  I am sure there are others, but these are a place to begin.  I will post the "characters" in this real life, true story as I come across them in this book.  The authors effectively use the newspapers at the time to enhance the information they present in this book.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Fall 2012 Research Plans

I have been diligently working on research guides for:
California, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois. 

I will be atttending virtual webinars given by the SCGS as Jamboree Exention.  

I have been exploring the The NEGHS website which has some very useful "Thayer Family" resources from the colonial era for Branitree, MA when it was part of Boston County. 

Now I am waiting for the weather to cool off so I can start baking and making cookies

Gwynn

Friday, August 10, 2012

Post 4 GC Library User Guides for Genealogy


  Genealogy staff have created user guides to assist patrons in using some of the more complex or difficult sources in the collection. (.PDF format) 


 

 

City Directories User Guides

 

 

 

 

State Census User Guides

 

 

Post 3 GC Library Genealogy Collection






Carlsbad, Georgina Cole Library (Second Floor) Genealogy Collection

If you personally visit the library you must sign in at the Genealogy Reference desk to use research collection. 

The Library has a circulating collection of genealogy books. The Genealogy collection has an extensive local history collection from all over the United States.  They also have some specific family histories, see  online catalog for details.  The library provides researchers with a call number guide which lists the call numbers for each state.  Do not overlook the microfiche and micoforms collection. 

To find non-circulating items in the collection, search the Carlsbad City Library catalog.The online catalog allows you to save catalog items: the “saved” list section option includes, sorting, viewing catalog selections in brief or full,  print formatted, and email. You can save your choice items  in the catalog and email the list to yourself or print them. Also, within the search results screen you can choose “limit search” where you can type the desired search term in the “search for” box, under “library” choose “Carlsbad City Library-Cole” and under the collections drop down menu choose “Genealogy” . The “type” box signifies the type of item you are looking for like a book or a database.


Genealogical Periodicals  (763 titles) A sample of the types of Periodicals.

 

Family Newsletters (limited years and volumes, see card catalog online)

Genealogy Society Newsletters (limited years and volumes, see card catalog online)

General Interest Genealogy

 

Internet Genealogy (from publishers of Family Chronicle)
Family Tree Magazine (Beginning to Intermediate Genealogy researcher)
Family Chronicle (Intermediate to Advanced level; Printed in Canada)

 

Genealogy Journals

The Genealogist
Ancestral News 1976-1985 microform
American Ancestors (NEGHS)
NGS News Magazine
The New England historical and genealogical register : index of persons, volumes 51-148

Georgina Cole Library Online Research Databases with a Library Card



If you are a California resident you can get a library card: present a valid photo I.D. and proof of mailing address from an envelope or bill. http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/library/about-us/Pages/library-card.aspx
The Genealogy library offers remote access to Heritage Quest with a Carlsbad Library card.  They also offer in library access to Newspaper Archive, American Ancestors, Ancestry Library Edition and Fold3.  

 

E-Book Borrowing

 

Your library card also entitles you to use the e-book borrowing system (Overdrive).  Before you use this system you must have an e-book reader program like Adobe Digital Editions. [Download a borrowed  ebook into the ebook-reader program, synch with an ebook reader like Kindle or Nook and transfer the ebook to your mobile device]

 

Newspapers available through e-research  databases  through the library card:

 

General Reference Center Gold Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Articles from nearly 6,000 magazines, newspapers, and reference books.
ProQuest Newspapers  full text articles:
Los Angeles Times (1985-current)
The New York Times (June 1980-present)
New York Times Magazine (1986-present)
The Wall Street Journal (1984-present)





In all, the librarians at the Georgina Cole Library have created an exceptional resource for genealogists.

Previous Posts




Post 2 GC Library Carsbad History Room

Overview of the Carlsbad History room:

The Carlsbad History room is located on the bottom floor, behind the magazines in the Carlsbad Georgina Cole Library.

 

Carlsbad Oral History Collection

 

Carlsbad Newspaper Collection

Carlsbad Champion, January 1926 – December 1927
Carlsbad Journal, January 1928 – December 1992
Carlsbad Sun, January 1993 – December 1995
North Coast Advertiser, March 5, 1975 – February 1981
Oceanside Blade, October 1892 – April 1930
Additionally, a microfilm collection of the short-lived weekly newspaper Carlsbad Sea Lion is available (December 10, 1887 – June 23, 1888).
Excerpts from the Plain Truth/Spirit of Love newspaper are available (June 1884 – December 1922). These were compiled by Robert Baird.

Carlsbad Yearbooks


Carlsbad Print/Video collection for local history

Examples are on the website:

 

Photos

More than 4,700 photos are available for historical research. Some photos are available via patron provided portable storage device. Historical photos can be viewed by appointment.

 

Scrapbooks


Letters

Zahniser Family 1882 – 1906, 1930; Shipley and Magee 1886 – 1954; Roberts 1942

Post 1 Georgina Cole Library General Info





1250 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 
Genealogy Desk: (760) 434-2931 
Genealogy hours Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
 Friday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Parking is free and is usually not a problem except for the first and third Tuesdays of each month when the North County Genealogical Society has meetings at 10am.

The library has one high speed scanner which uses a flash drive, microfilm machines, microfiche machines, photocopiers, computers for genealogical use only and wireless internet access inside of the library.

Photocopies are 20 cents per copy and color copies are $1.00 each. No food or drink is allowed inside the library although there are picnic tables and seating outside. There are two collections at this location: The Carlsbad History Room (first floor) Georgina Cole Library Genealogy Collection (second floor)






Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sunday Day 3 at Jamboree

Sunday, I was fortunate to be able to obtain a last minute ticket to the NEGHS Breakfast with Rhonda McClure. Rhonda gave a delightful and humorous presentation on one of her ancestors who had almost the same surname as my son's history teacher. We all have those mischievous black sheep ancestors, I guess its part of human nature. During the break, I chatted with a dear friend from the Chula Vista Genealogical Society as she relayed a story of her sister who had Alzheimer's. She taught me that you need to keep your sense of humor to keep from becoming too frustrated. I attended Thomas McEntee's Got Illinois Ancestors? A Guide to Prairie State Genealogy Thomas had alot of information and during the session I recognized a fellow NSDGS member who had Chicago ancestors. Several resources I have previously used but several sites and tips were new to me. Thomas was had a good mix and balance of websites and tips. Sunday I left a little early because I did not want to be stuffed in the shuttle with a ton of tired genealogists or have to walk to the train station. One of my friends told me I won a prize but I don't know what it was. Maybe they drew another ticket instead. I came home with a nice collection of reference books. I purchased the NEHGS guide to New England Research which was newly revised. I found some wonderful copies of a Menonite Family History magazine and Ohio genealogy magazine which gave insight to Ohio in the Civil War. I am still working on the Joel Ward family from Ashland Ohio.

Jamboree Day 2 Saturday June 9

Saturday at Jamboree was very busy and crowded. One of the two morning sessions I attended was Daniel Horowitz: Genealogical Resources in Latin America. Some of my research requests have been for Latin America. The first one I received was from Mexico and I quickly learned where the record repositories were located. Daniel's session included websites for almost every country in Latin America. Daniel had the most web resources from his home country of Argentina but also a good website selection for Latin America. The next session was D. Josh Taylor: A Broader Context: Using JSTOR for Family History. I was amazed at this resource which is not used much by Genealogists. Although JSTOR is mostly available at Universities it may be possible to obtain a University library card and access JSTOR from home. I was excited about this resource and plan to see where it is offered at a University near my home. I love to read historical peer reviewed journals and which is probably due to the years I spent researching at San Diego State University as a student. The last session of the morning was Michael John Neill's: Preparing for Mother's Death. McNeill explained where to search for documents relating to death. Several items he discussed were familiar to me yet he gave other useful tips. After lunch I went to George Morgan's Timelining Your Ancestor George covered some areas of timelines that I currently use but true to his insight, some of his suggestions were along the lines of methodology for genealogy. Another favorite on Saturday afternoon was Lisa Louise Cooke's 10 Ways to Add Volume to Your Family History with Video. Cooke described how to add video and photos to Google Maps, using You Tube for Genealogy and ways to create Genealogy video for You Tube or digital venues. She introduced us to a free screen capture online tool that I will try to learn and implement. I already know how to use Windows Movie Maker and what I like about it is the ability to save it onto a DVD player format for TV. I have used Windows Movie Maker for publicity for non profit events and it is really easy to use. Another video program that is free is Picasa but it does not have as much functionality as Windows Movie Maker. The last two events of the busy day were the Association for Professional Genealogists Southern California Chapter and a meeting of current and Alumni of the Professional Genealogy Study Groups. I finished the ProGen Study group in December and wanted to encourage those who are still working to complete the 19 month commitment.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Jamboree Day 1 Friday June 8, 2012

Jamboree Friday June 8 The first session I attended was Carrie Cook's: Oral History, Theater of the Mind. Carrie was a delightful speaker with insight on oral history. Her personal examples of oral history techniques were humorous as well as easy to implement. I realized that I needed to use more open ended questions while interviewing and its generally a good idea not to use leading questions unless someone continually strays off topic. Carrie's visuals were in tune with the theme of Jamboree for this year "Lights, Camera, Ancestors". The second session was Steve Luxenberg's Lost in the Unknown: The Delicacy of Probing Family Secrets. My Jewish friend told me about Steve and that he spoke at the Jewish Genealogical Society of San Diego. She spoke highly of him. I could really tell that he was an investigative journalist by the way he spoke. I never realized how damaging it can be for a family to keep those family secrets. We all have "skeletons in closet" to some extent. In my family, my mother's family was supportive and nurturing during family crisis and did not tend to hide things. My grandparents on my mother's side were both journalists. I did learn from my mom that obsession with a journalism job can be damaging to a family as well and that my grandfather was more nurturing than my grandmother. This was not really a secret, just a perception of my mother's. My dad's family was not as close. Although, I find it interesting that as people move toward their later years reconnecting with family becomes more important to them. Such was the case with my father's family. The hallways at the hotel for some of the sessions were so packed it was almost scary to maneuver them. I opted out of a session I really wanted to attend: Lisa Alzo's Show Dont Tell: Creating Interactive Family Histories. I guess I was intimidated by the crush of humanity in the hallway. I went to gather books and resources from the exhibit hall for the last session on Friday. Several bloggers and computer users were commenting that the Internet was spotty and slow so I did not attempt to connect while I was at the conference. I chose to spend the time talking with friends and choosing my sessions for Saturday. Saturday's Jamboree sessions will be in a separate post.

Jamboree Weekend Train and Hotel

I took the train to Jamboree. The hardest part was lugging the post Jamboree books up the stairs on the train. Fortunately, I have several friends in the San Diego Genealogical Society and Chula Vista Genealogical Society who helped out. On the way up to the conference I sat with my friend from the North San Diego Genealogical Society and we had a nice time talking about genealogy, travel and our families. Due to the cost of gas where I live I seriously do not think that driving would have been cheaper and parking spots at Jamboree are very limited. Although I had to wait a while and take some luggage to my first classes, my room at the Airport Marriott in Burbank was very nice. I had an allergy free and feather free suite all to myself. The suite was a generous size and there was a little fridge hiding among the cabinets. It was refreshing to have cold bottled water to drink. Some of my genealogy friends were upset that they did not get a room at the hotel and were bumped to another hotel without notice and some had to pay more for parking than was agreed upon for Jamboree. Looking back, I probably did not bring enough snacks and could have used a larger suitcase but that would have made it heavier and more of a struggle with the narrow train stairway. The food at the Daily Grill was pricey but of top quality. I figured that a chicken quesadilla appetizer was more than I could eat for dinner and it was not so painful for the pocketbook. Breakfast at the Daily Grill was Oatmeal, orange juice and fruit. The oatmeal bowl was so large I could not eat all of that meal either. My next post will discuss the Jamboree Sessions I attended for my third Jamboree.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

I have been thinking about medical history due to a family member's recent hospitalization. Do you have a record of all the surgeries you have had? What if a loved one needs to advocate for you, can you tell them all the health issues you have? People may think that this is not really related to genealogy but actually it is! You need to know about any diseases that your ancestors may have had which is an actual medical profession called historical epidemiology. We had a historical epidemiologist speak at our local genealogical society and he informed us on the history of influenza. Americans called one variety the "Spanish" flu. Which makes me wonder if in Spain they called it the "American" flu? All in all it was a very interesting topic.

Surnames from Wordle

Wordle: Family Tree

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Cleaning Up Old Files

In years past I used a surname binder system for my files. I realized that some of these old binders were not put into Roots Magic. Notes and I am missing the index for the first 300 documents in my digital files. Fortunately I kept a paper copy of the index. I now have to decide if I want to re enter these in Excel or if I should just scan them.


Sankey Family Marriage Liscenses found on Family Search Pennsylvania County Marriages

I was thrilled to find Marriage Applications and marriage licenses on Family Search
https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Pennsylvania_County_Marriage_Records_%28FamilySearch_Historical_Records%29

The database is "Pennsylvania County Marriages 1885-1950"
I found the following scanned applications and marriage licenses:
Ida M. Sankey married WIlliam Carson on April 28, 1897.
Elmer Sankey married Mary Gilbert on June 5, 1906.
Violet Sankey married Edgar Cushard on June 26, 1903
James Sankey married Eunice Crain on June 20, 1894
Guy Sankey married Tillie Kephart on 15 November 1902
The Sankeys were from Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania.

My ancestor was the youngest: Thomas Daniel Sankey; He lived with James Runkle. Rosetta Breon and their daughters Annie Runkle (who married Dr. Allison) and Laura Runkle.  They had an inn at Centre Hall.  James Runke was brother to Lydia Runkle, Thomas Sankey's mother.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Valentines Day is approaching, and I'm thinking about the mysterious Jessie Wescott

I have been feverishly making Valentines.  My favorite ancestor couples lately are George Francis Riddell and Jessie Wescott; Ada Coon and David Wescott.  A cousin who is descended from George and Jessie contacted me and I was surprised that I already had Jessie on the family tree as David Wescott's daughter from his first marriage.  George and Jessie's child was adopted by a couple to whom they were distantly related through Ada Coon's first husband: Francis Darling Riddell's father who who was George Riddell's sister Lephe Riddell and her marriage to Ruel Crumb.  

Spring Cleaning a Little Early Legacy woes and Roots Magic perks

I almost had a disaster! Legacy gave me a strange error code and I emailed the support and no one ever replied.  I tried installing an updated version and that failed.  I transferred my data file to my desktop and tried uninstalled Legacy and tried to reinstall from disk, that did not work either.  Fortunately, before I had the error message from Legacy I loaded the file into RootsMagic to convert and that was fine.  I noticed that RootsMagic has more places for notes.  There are notes for the individual, family and in the new version there is a research log.  It is nice to have options!  I also like RootsMagic's master source file in which you can select the source type and it formats the source citation after you enter the pertinent information in a file.  Although, for writing purposes I use the good old fashioned footnotes.  RootsMagic does not let me put superscript for foot noting so I had to resort to "footnote #" which is not the conventional style.  I can convert it on a Word Processor later if I choose to write more on this family line. 

Disclaimer:  I am not an employee or affiliated with Roots Magic or Legacy, I am a user of their genealogy software and no compensation was received for this posting.