Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Highlights

Below are highlights from the past year of posts, focusing on those posts I feel may be of the most interest to those who aren't related to me.
A look at a 1904 World's Fair exhibit, and what survives 
A 3-part exploration of the databases and records at FindMyPast
A 2-part exploration of Yad Vashem's database of Holocaust victims 
My experience with Ancestry's new DNA test, and some perceived drawbacks for those of Eastern European Jewish Descent
An examination of some issues with the way Ancestry.com handles the city and county of last residence in their SSDI database
A comparison of the holdings at four different online archives of digitized newspapers - with a focus on Missouri newspapers.
A look at how a common logical fallacy can trip the genealogy researcher.  (I originally posted this entry back in 2009, but I reposted it with some modifications.)
I married the woman of my dreams in April, and we went on a honeymoon in June.
Several posts related to these events might be of interest to others.
 Research on the origins of the phrase: "Something Old, Something New..."
Research on the etymology of the word, 'Honeymoon.'
My wife and I visited Prague on our honeymoon, and decided to make a trip to the nearby former concentration camp.

Friday, December 28, 2012

New Year's Resolutions

Below are my New Year's Resolutions from December of 1975.  

As is my habit, I have protected the names of the living, in this case both of my siblings, to whom apparently I must have believed I wasn't being good enough. (The spelling errors are embarrassing, but I was only one month shy of 7.)

I suspect I was also trying to cure myself of calling my mother, 'Mommy,' as I can't think of anything else I would have called her at that age.

In first grade I was participating in an annual reading challenge at my school. I happened to know the neighbor across the street held the all-time record, and I apparently initially resolved to break that record. I was either told it was an inappropriate resolution, or decided it was on my own. (I did break the record. The school closed five years later with my record unbroken. 1509.)

My kind and loving wife tells me there is still one of these I need work on. I will let everyone guess. She tells me also that my handwriting was better back then.


I'm still working on my 2013 Resolutions

Friday, December 21, 2012

Fifteen Poems from the Archives

I am an aficionado of poetry. I enjoy reading, writing, and performing  the art. In the past six years I have devoted several blog posts to poetry. Below are fifteen of these. Click on the 'Poetry' label at the bottom of the post to find more.

Poems Written by Me
  1. Genealogy Research
  2. Where I'm From
  3. A Toast to the First and the Fourth of July
  4. E Pluribus Unum; Cognatus, Ergo Sum
  5. Divergent, Yet Intersecting
  6. Ode to a Microspatula
  7. Genealogy Limericks 
Poems Written by Kin
  1. Mother - by Willa Van Every
  2. Mother - by Ida Green 
Poems Written by Others
  1. Our Mother Was the Pussy-Cat - by Edward Lear (an unfinished sequel to The Owl and the Pussy-Cat)
  2. On Going Home For Christmas - by Edgar Guest
  3. To a Lady - by Victor Hugo (Translation by Thomas Hardy)
  4. On the Burial of his Brother - by Caius Valerius Catullus (Translation by Aubrey Vincent Beardsley)
  5. The Mounds of Cahokia - by Micah P. Flint
  6. The Jewish Cemetery at Newport - by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Dec 16-19

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

Note: I am posting this several days early. Our Weekly Picks will be taking a holiday, and will return Sunday, January 6th.
I did participate in the beta-testing period, but unfortunately, haven't had a great amount of time to test it out, and I don't have the time to write up a full review. However, I liked what I have seen. I feel it would be a great secondary software program for me to focus on gathering and visualizing the evidence for selected brick walls. It would also be useful for creating a database for my family records, and transcriptions. Currently it doesn't allow for attaching files or transcriptions, but I have been told by the creator that that is planned for a future update.

It will not work as a primary genealogy database for me, and I don't believe it is the intent of the creator that it should. Some (perhaps many) will find its inability to import or export into the standard GEDCOM format a deal-breaker. However, GEDCOM doesn't include a standardized method for handling citations. Evidentia is built around evidence and citations. Oil and Water don't mix. Since those with large databases will not want to manually copy information to a new database, those who use Evidentia will likely use it for select individuals. 
There are both PC and Mac verstions, however, if you are a Mac user you need to have the 10.7 OS (Lion) or above. There are screenshots, tutorials, and sample reports on the software site.
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next three weeks

Three Week Calendar
  • Dec 20 - International Human Solidarity Day
  • Dec 21 - Pancha Ganapti - Dec 21-25 (Hindu)
  • Dec 21 - Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, MA)
  • Dec 21 - Yule - Northern Hemisphere / Litha - Southern Hemisphere (Pagan)
  • Dec 24 - Christmas Eve (Christian)
  • Dec 25 - Christmas (Christian)
  • Dec 26 - Kwanzaa - Dec 26-Jan 1
  • Dec 26 - Boxing Day
  • Dec 26 - Zarathosht Diso (Zoroastrian)
  • Dec 28 - Holy Innocents (Christian)
  • Dec 30 - Freedom Day (Church of Scientology)
  • Dec 30 - Feast of the Holy Family (Christian)
  • Dec 31 - New Year's Eve
  • Jan 1 - New Year's Day
  • Jan 1 - Gantan-sai (Shinto) 
  • Jan 1 - Global Family Day
  • Jan 1 - Public Domain Day
  • Jan 5 - Twelfth Night (Christian)
  • Jan 5 - Guru Gobindh Singh birthday (Sikh)
  • Jan 6 - Epiphany (Christian)
  • Jan 6 - Feast of the Theophany (Orthodox Christian) 
  • Jan 7 - Nativity of Christ (Orthodox Christian)
  • Jan 7 - The Festival of Seven Herbs (Japan)
  • Jan 13 - Maghi (Sikh)

Monday, December 17, 2012

Amanuensis Monday: A Deed for a Church (1680)

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***

This week I am sharing a passage from The Annals of Albany, by Joel Munsell. It includes a transcription of the deed for a Lutheran church in Albany from the 17th century, and mentions my 8th great grandfather, Myndert Frederickse (son of Frederick Van Iveren), as well as Myndert's brother, Carsten. The children of Myndert and Carsten would, by and large, return to the Van Iveren surname, which later changed to Van Every.

The deed was originally in Dutch, though the author provides a translation. I include both below.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Dec 9 to Dec 15

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.
  • The controversial Martin Luther King Jr. memorial transcription, which misquoted the Civil Rights leader, will be removed instead of corrected. (Source: CNN)
  • In a recent patent filing, "Apple outlined a system that analyzes the characteristics of an image's subject and uses the data to create a 'faceprint,' which can then be matched with other photos to determine a person's identity." [Source: Apple Insider]
Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Dec 16 - Las Posadas/Posadas Navidenas - Dec 16 (evening) to Dec 24 (evening) (Christian - Spanish)
  • Dec 17 - Saturnalia (Roman)
  • Dec 17 - Wright Brothers Day (US)
  • Dec 18 - International Migrants Day
  • Dec 20 - International Human Solidarity Day
  • Dec 21 - Pancha Ganapti - Dec 21-25 (Hindu)
  • Dec 21 - Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, MA)
  • Dec 21 - Yule - Northern Hemisphere / Litha - Southern Hemisphere (Pagan)
  • Dec 24 - Christmas Eve (Christian)
  • Dec 25 - Christmas (Christian)
  • Dec 26 - Kwanzaa - Dec 26-Jan 1
  • Dec 26 - Boxing Day
  • Dec 26 - Zarathosht Diso (Zoroastrian)
  • Dec 28 - Holy Innocents (Christian)
  • Dec 30 - Freedom Day (Church of Scientology)
  • Dec 30 - Feast of the Holy Family (Christian)
  • Dec 31 - New Years Eve

Monday, December 10, 2012

Amanuensis Monday: Obituary for Louis Pleas Gober

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***

This week I am sharing the obituary for my wife's 2nd great grandfather, Louis Pleas Gober. It appeared in the November 4, 1948 Sikeston Herald, and I retrieved the image from Ancestry.com.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: December 2-8

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.
Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Dec 9 - International Anti-Corruption Day
  • Dec 10 - Human Rights Day
  • Dec 10 - Alfred Nobel Day
  • Dec 15 - Bill of Rights Day (US)
  • Dec 15 - Esperanto Day
  • Dec 16 - Las Posadas/Posadas Navidenas - Dec 16 (evening) to Dec 24 (evening) (Christian - Spanish)
  • Dec 17 - Saturnalia (Roman)
  • Dec 17 - Wright Brothers Day (US)
  • Dec 18 - International Migrants Day
  • Dec 20 - International Human Solidarity Day
  • Dec 21 - Pancha Ganapti - Dec 21-25 (Hindu)
  • Dec 21 - Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, MA)
  • Dec 21 - Yule - Northern Hemisphere / Litha - Southern Hemisphere (Pagan)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Amanuensis Monday: A second obituary for Willa Van Every


Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***

Back in October I shared an obituary I found in the Lockhart Post Register for my maternal grandmother's sister, Willa (Van Every) Roberts. It had been written by another sister of my maternal grandmother, Minnie (Van Every) Benold, and had appeared on July 20, 1916, 11 days after the death.

Since then I discovered another obituary mixed in with some other newspaper clippings my grandmother preserved.  I don't know what newspaper it appeared in, but I believe it was written by someone else, as there are differences in style. It also fills in a few additional details. The obituary I shared back in October is shown below on the right, though I do not re-transcribe it.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Nov 25-Dec 1


Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

The topic around the genealogical water-cooler at the end of this week was Ancestry.com's announcement of the creation of a new website: Newspapers.com (GeneaPress)

On other topics:
  • Denise Grollmas at TabletMag writes about a Jewish Revival in Poland, where the grandchildren of those who hid their religion, are rediscovering, and embracing, their roots.

Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Dec 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • Dec 2 - Advent - First Sunday (Christian)
  • Dec 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • Dec 6 - St. Nicholas Day (Christian)
  • Dec 7 - Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (US)
  • Dec 8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Christian)
  • Dec 8 - Rohatsu/Bodhi Day (Buddhist) 
  • Dec 8 - Hanuka - Dec 8 (sunset) to Dec 16 (sunset) (Jewish) 
  • Dec 9 - International Anti-Corruption Day
  • Dec 10 - Human Rights Day
  • Dec 10 - Alfred Nobel Day
  • Dec 15 - Bill of Rights Day (US)
  • Dec 15 - Esperanto Day
  • Dec 16 - Las Posadas/Posadas Navidenas - Dec 16 (evening) to Dec 24 (evening) (Christian - Spanish)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Show Me the Newspapers

Ancestry announced on Thursday a new website: Newspapers.com. Subscription rates are $80/year or $40/year for those who are already subscribing to Ancestry or Fold3. [Note: I rounded up 5 cents from the advertised prices.]

This inspired me to compare the newspaper selections at five major newspaper archival sites. I decided to focus on one state, fully realizing that the comparison was likely to differ somewhat depending upon which state I chose. However, I do not have the time to do this for every state. I chose the state I, personally, was most interested in. Missouri. My ancestors first moved to this state in the 1880s, and my wife's ancestors moved here a bit earlier.

I looked at the newspaper collections at Newspapers (N), Ancestry (A), NewspaperArchive (NA), GenealogyBank (GB), and ChroniclingAmerica (CA).  Of these five, Chronicling America is the only free offering, since it is a product of the Library of Congress. I have free access to NewspaperArchive through my library card. I also can access Ancestry's newspapers at my local library, but I can't access them from home without maintaining my subscription.

Utilizing the abbreviations above, I have noted where a title has shared coverage at a different site. If only a portion of the years are duplicated, I have indicated which years the other site has.  I've separated the titles each site has exclusively.

Note: There are some titles that look similar, but if a site listed them as separate, I assumed they were.

Newspapers.com (22 titles, 9 exclusive, 9 also at NewspaperArchive, 9 also at Ancestry, 5 at all three)

Exclusive
  • Mexico Ledger (Mexico, Missouri)
    • 1947 – 1977 (52,521 pages )
  • Moberly Democrat (Moberly, Missouri)
    • 1899 – 1922 (2,883 pages)
  • Moberly Evening Democrat (Moberly, Missouri)
    • 1899 – 1923 (13,901 pages)
  • Moberly Morning Monitor (Moberly, Missouri)
    • 1910 – 1916 (2,235 pages)
  • Moberly Weekly Democrat (Moberly, Missouri)
    • 1906 – 1909 (2,182 pages)
  • Neosho News (Neosho, Missouri)
    • 1953 – 1976 (7,194 pages)
  • The Neosho Daily News (Neosho, Missouri)
    • 1913 – 1976 (49,781 pages)
  • The Neosho Times (Neosho, Missouri)
    • 1913 – 1938 (10,553 pages)
Shared
  • The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune (Chillicothe, Missouri) [A 1920-1988]
    • 1901 – 1988 (141,823 pages)
  • Cole County Democrat (Jefferson City, Missouri) [NA]
    • 1904 – 1905 (8 pages)
  • The Daily Capital News (Jefferson City, Missouri) [A] [NA]
    • 1937 – 1977 (52,108 pages)
  • Daily Capital News and Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) [NA]
    • 1931 – 1933 (276 pages)
  • Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) [A] [NA]
    • 1932 – 1967 (8,715 pages)
  • Jefferson City Tribune-Post (Jefferson City, Missouri) [NA]
    • 1927 – 1927 (333 pages)
  • Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri) [NA] 
    • 1921 – 1929 (27,082 pages)
  • Magic City Free Press (Moberly, Missouri) [A] [NA]
    • 1970 – 1974 (1,618 pages)
  • Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, Missouri) [A]
    • 1922 – 1964 (38,057 pages)
  • Moberly Weekly Monitor (Moberly, Missouri) [A]
    • 1929 – 1929 (552 pages)
  • The News and Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) [A] [NA]
    • 1933 – 1976 (6,729 pages)
  • Sedalia Daily Democrat (Sedalia, Missouri) [A] [NA]
    • 1871 – 1925 (4,698 pages)
  • The Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, Missouri) [A]
    • 1949 – 1950 (6,455 pages )
  • The Sikeston Herald (Sikeston, Missouri) [A]
    • 1936 – 1960 (12,270 pages)
Ancestry.com (17 titles, 5 exclusive, 9 also at Newspapers, 6 also at NewspaperArchive, 5 at all three)

Exclusive
  • Chillicothe Morning Constitution (Chillicothe, Missouri)
    • 1889-1985
  • The Chillicothe Constitution (Chillicothe, Missouri)
    • 1901-1928
  • The Constitution Tribune (Chillicothe, Missouri)
    • 1985-1988
  • Stars and Stripes Newspaper, WWI Edition, 1918-1919
    • 1918-1919
  • U.S., "Happy Days" Newspaper of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1940
    • 1933-1940
[Note: I believe Ancestry lists these last two for every state.]

Shared
  • Daily Capital News (Jefferson City, Missouri) [N] [NA]
    • 1937-1977
  • Sedalia Daily Democrat (Sedalia, Missouri) [N]
    • 1871-1925
  • Sedalia Democrat, The (Sedalia, Missouri) [N] [NA]
    • 1949-1950
  • Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) [N 1932-1967] [NA]
    • 1929-1974
  • Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri) [NA]
    • 1944-1958
  • Magic City Free Press (Moberly, Missouri) [N] [NA]
    • 1970-1974
  • Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, Missouri) [N 1922-1964]
    • 1922-1977
  • Moberly Weekly Monitor (Moberly, Missouri) [N 1929]
    • 1929-1932
  • News and Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) [N 1933-1976] [NA]
    • 1933-1977
  • The Chillicothe Constitution Tribune (Chillicothe, Missouri) [N]
    • 1920-1988
  • The Maryville Daily Forum (Maryville, Missouri) [NA]
    • 1940-1955
  • The Sikeston Herald (Sikeston, Missouri) [N]
    • 1936-1960
NewspaperArchive (31 titles, 21 exclusive, 9 also at Newspapers, 6 also at Ancestry, 6 at all three)

Exclusive
  • Capital Daily News (1970)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Chillicothe Weekly Constitution (1902 - 1920)
    • Chillicothe, Missouri
  • Daily Capital News and Post Tribune (1931 - 1933)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Daily Democrat Tribune (1910 - 1924)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Daily Saint Charles Cosmos Monitor (1921 - 1953)
    • Saint Charles, Missouri
  • Democrat Tribune (1920 - 1922)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Daily Capital News (1918 - 1972)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Daily Tribune (1909)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Democrat Tribune (1915 - 1920)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Tribune (1909 - 1927)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Weekly Tribune (1909)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Joplin Daily Globe (1898 - 2012)
    • Joplin, Missouri
  • Joplin News Herald (1921 - 1970)
    • Joplin, Missouri
  • Joplin Sunday Globe (2010 - 2012)
    • Joplin, Missouri
  • Mexico School News Roundup (1954)
    • Mexico, Missouri
  • Missouri Gazette Public Advertiser (1822)
    • St Louis, Missouri
  • Missouri Republican (1823 - 1824)
    • St Louis, Missouri
  • St Louis Star Times (1945)
    • St Louis, Missouri
  • St Louis Weekly Globe Democrat (1896 - 1901)
    • St Louis, Missouri
  • St Louis World Fair (1904)
    • St Louis, Missouri
  • Weekly Democrat Tribune (1911 - 1914)
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
Shared
  • Cole County Democrat (1904 - 1909) [N]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Daily Capital News (1920 - 1977) [A 1930-1977] [N 1930-1977]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Daily Capital News and Jefferson City Post Tribune (1931 - 1933) [N]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Daily Democrat (1871 - 1999) [N 1871-1925] [A 1871-1925]
    • Sedalia, Missouri
  • Jefferson City News and Tribune (1933 - 1978) [N 1933-1976] [A 1933-1977]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Post Tribune (1927 - 1978) [A 1929-1974] [N 1932-1967]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Jefferson City Tribune Post (1927) [N]
    • Jefferson City, Missouri
  • Joplin Globe (1915 - 2012) [A 1944-1958] [N 1921-1929]
    • Joplin, Missouri
  • Magic City Free Press (1970 - 1974) [A] [N]
    • Moberly, Missouri
  • Maryville Daily Forum (1940 - 1955) [A]
    • Maryville, Missouri
GenealogyBank (15 titles, 15 exclusive)
  • Hannibal - Missouri Courier
    • 1/18/1849 – 12/28/1854
  • Kansas City - Kansas City Star
    • 9/18/1880 – 12/31/1941
  • Kansas City - Kansas City Times
    • 5/1/1884 – 1/31/1896
  • Kansas City - Rising Son
    • 1/16/1903 – 12/28/1907
  • Kansas City - Cosmopolitan
    • 8/22/1914 – 11/15/1919
  • Sedalia - Sedalia Times
    • 8/31/1901 – 12/19/1903
  • St. Louis - St. Louis Republic
    • 5/1/1888 – 10/31/1900
  • St. Louis - Daily Missouri Republican
    • 3/1/1841 – 4/1/1888
  • St. Louis - St. Louis Palladium
    • 1/10/1903 – 10/5/1907
  • St. Louis - Daily Commercial Bulletin
    • 5/18/1835 – 12/31/1838
  • St. Louis - Weekly St. Louis Pilot
    • 1/6/1855 – 11/15/1856
  • St. Louis - Missouri Gazette and Public Advertiser
    • 3/23/1808 – 9/18/1818
  • St. Louis - St. Louis Enquirer
    • 3/17/1819 – 12/18/1824
  • St. Louis - St. Louis Clarion
    • 12/18/1920 – 4/2/1921
  • Washington - Die Washingtoner Post
    • 11/17/1870 – 11/14/1878
Chronicling America (57 titles, 57 exclusive)
  • The Professional world.
    • Columbia, Mo., 1901-1903
  • The Cape weekly tribune.
    • Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1914-1914
  • Fair play.
    • Ste. Genevieve [Mo.], 1872-1921
  • The Jasper news.
    • Jasper, Mo., 1901-1922
  • The Holt County sentinel.
    • Oregon, Mo., 1865-1880
  • The Hayti herald.
    • Hayti, Mo., 1909-1922
  • The state republican.
    • Jefferson City, Mo., 1890-1896
  • The Missouri herald.
    • Hayti, Mo., 1922
  • The Cape County herald.
    • Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1911-1914
  • The Montgomery tribune.
    • Montgomery City, Mo., 1900-1910
  • The St. Joseph observer.
    • St. Joseph, Mo., 1915-1922
  • The Lincoln County herald.
    • Troy, Lincoln County, Mo., 1866-1873
  • The state journal.
    • Jefferson City, Mo., 1872-1878
  • The Kansas City sun.
    • Kansas City, Mo., 1914-1920
  • Boon's Lick times.
    • Fayette, Mo., 1840-1848
  • The Cape Girardeau Democrat.
    • Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1891-1901
  • Hannibal journal.
    • Hannibal, Mo., 1853-1853
  • The County paper.
    • Oregon, Mo., 1881-1883
  • The Holt County sentinel.
    • Oregon, Mo., 1883-1921
  • Osage Valley banner.
    • Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo., 1879-1881
  • The Weekly tribune and the Cape County herald.
    • Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1914-1918
  • Monroe City Democrat.
    • Monroe City, Mo., 1898-1919
  • Kansas City journal.
    • Kansas City, Mo., 1890-1899
  • Glasgow weekly times.
    • Glasgow, Mo., 1848-1861
  • Western union.
    • City of Hannibal, Mo., 1850-1851
  • Hannibal journal.
    • Hannibal, Mo., 1852-1853
  • University Missourian.
    • Columbia, Mo., 1908-1916
  • The Saline republican.
    • Marshall, Mo., 1898-1899
  • Morgan County democrat.
    • Versailles, Mo., 1903-1906
  • Morgan County republican.
    • Versailles, Mo., 1906-1914
  • The Rich Hill tribune.
    • Rich Hill, Mo., 1903-1910
  • The tribune.
    • Rich Hill, Mo., 1901-1902
  • Mexico Missouri message.
    • Mexico, Audrain County, Mo., 1899-1918
  • The Jackson herald.
    • Jackson, Mo., 1901-1910
  • Glasgow weekly times.
    • Glasgow, Howard County, Mo., 1866-1869
  • The Howard union.
    • Glasgow, Mo., 1865-1865
  • The news boy.
    • Benton, Scott County, Mo., 1894-1897
  • Scott County kicker.
    • Benton, Mo., 1901-1917
  • The daily Missourian.
    • Columbia, Mo., 1916-1917
  • The Evening Missourian.
    • Columbia, Mo., 1917-1920
  • The Columbia evening Missourian.
    • Columbia, Mo., 1920-1922
  • Saturday morning visitor.
    • City of Warsaw, Mo., 1848-1849
  • The Sedalia weekly bazoo.
    • Sedalia, Mo., 1877-1893
  • Weekly graphic.
    • Kirksville, Adair Co., Mo., 1880-896
  • The Troy herald.
    • Troy, Mo., 1873-1878
  • Salt River journal.
    • Bowling Green, Mo., 1839-1841
  • The radical.
    • Bowling Green [Mo., 1841-1845
  • The St. Louis Republic.
    • St. Louis, Mo., 1900-1906
  • Kansas City daily journal.
    • Kansas City, Mo., 1895-1897
  • Sedalia weekly conservator.
    • Sedalia, Mo., 1903-1908
  • Democratic banner.
    • Bowling Green, Pike County, Mo., 1845-1851
  • Hannibal journal and western union.
    • Hannibal, Mo., 1851-1852
  • Richmond democrat.
    • Richmond, Ray County, Mo., 1879-1888
  • The Rising son.
    • Kansas City, Mo., 1903-1907
  • The Andrew County Republican.
    • Savannah, Mo., 1871-1876
  • The weekly tribune.
    • Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1918-1919
  • The Marshall republican.
    • Marshall, Saline County, Mo., 1899-1914
Conclusions

1) Newspapers.com is definitely not merely a duplicate of the selection at Ancestry. Nor is it a duplicate of the selection at NewspaperArchive. There is overlap, but all three have unique coverage.

2) GenealogyBank and Ancestry are essentially tied with 15 titles in Missouri, not counting the two national titles at Ancestry. However, GenealogyBank's titles are all exclusive. And they have coverage in St. Louis and Kansas City the other sites don't have. I don't know if it holds up in other states, but in Missouri GenealogyBank seems to have an urban focus, while the other sites focus rurally.

3) If a researcher isn't utilizing ChroniclingAmerica - they are missing out on an excellent free resource.

4) Personally, I don't see a strong need to subscribe to Newspapers.com.  However, this choice is going to depend entirely on the newspapers of interest for each individual researcher.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Inaccuracies in the Ancestry SSDI Database

Michael John Neill at RootDig has been discussing some issues he has with various Ancestry Databases. He’s had some success with Ancestry resolving some of the issues.

He asks if anyone else has issues with some of the databases. Why, yes, I have an issue with the Social Security Death Index, and in particular, Ancestry’s data for “Last Residence.” In a large number of instances, it’s simply wrong. Not ‘sort of right’ or ‘incomplete’ – wrong.  I blogged about this back in 2008, but it hasn't been fixed.

The problem arises because the original data provided to the various websites (Ancestry, GenealogyBank, etc) contains a couple different fields for “Last Residence.” One is the zip code. That piece of data Ancestry handles perfectly. However, the City and County information it mangles. One zip code often covers multiple cities, and I assume the original data source provided to all the companies lists all of them. Ancestry only provides in its records the first city in the list. This gives the incorrect appearance of a definitive answer, as opposed to multiple options. And the odds of Ancestry being correct go down as the number of cities the zip code covers goes up.

Additionally, possibly due to a unique event in St. Louis history in 1877, the first option the data provides in the list of cities for zip codes in much of St. Louis County is "St. Louis," which implies the City of St. Louis, which is wrong. The City of St. Louis isn’t part of the zip code. While this is a data-error for which Ancestry isn’t responsible, if they listed all the options, it would be clear to the researcher they had to conduct some further research to figure out which one is accurate. As is, it’s likely many researchers write down the wrong bit of information, thinking it is correct. And it’s not.

Let’s take a look at an some examples, and some maps, comparing Ancestry’s record, to the parallel record at GenealogyBank, and using Google Maps to visually see what I am talking about.

Here are the records for my grandmother, Belle (Feinstein) Newmark. Her last residence was in Creve Coeur, Missouri. The record on the left is from GenealogyBank. The record on the right is from Ancestry.

As you can see, Ancestry claims her last residence was in Saint Louis, Saint Louis. This actually is a non-existent location. In 1877 St. Louis City 'divorced' itself from St. Louis County, and they are separate entities. However, I'm not concerned about a database not being designed to facilitate a rare exception. GenealogyBank is able to display in its record that the city might either be St. Louis, or it might be Creve Coeur. Ancestry states that the city is St. Louis.  Ancestry is wrong.



Here's a record for my grandmother's uncle, Henry Blatt. I'm actually unsure which of the three cities for the zip code is the correct one, as I don't have his death certificate, and don't know his last known address. A small part of the 63105 zip code is in the city of St. Louis, though I suspect he resided in either Clayton or University City.  Once again, GenealogyBank lists all the possibilities. Ancestry picks the first one, whether accurate or not.


Here's a map of a portion of St. Louis County, courtesy of Google Maps.  The red polygon is the 63141 zip code. As you can see, it is a fair distance from the city of St. Louis, which is on the far right of the map. Several towns lie in between.  One border of the city is marked by where "Forest Park" meets Clayton.

Back in 2008 I theorized that the reason St. Louis City is listed as an option in the data was that part of 63141 is unincorporated.  However, I'm fairly certain now that that isn't the reason. Last Residences in most zip codes of St. Louis County seem to include St. Louis City as the first option. And thus, Ancestry lists it as the only option.  By conducting a search at Ancestry on just the year of death and a zipcode, I've also checked Kirkwood (63122), Brentwood (63144), Sunset Hills (63127), and Maryland Heights (63043). [Sunset Hills and Maryland Heights are off the above map. Sunset Hills is where 270 and 44 meet; You can almost see the label for Maryland Heights on the Northwestern part of the map.]  Of those four, St. Louis is absent from the options in only 63043.  One possibility is that St. Louis City is provided as an option for all zip codes beginning with the digits '631.'

To recap:

There is something funky going on with the data that the Social Security Administration provides for St. Louis County. Neither Ancestry nor GenealogyBank can do anything about that.

However, Ancestry only providing one option for the city of Last Residence creates a lot of inaccurate records. And this will happen whenever a zip code covers more than one city, which I suspect is often.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Surname Ngrams

Google has an interesting feature: The Google Ngram Viewer. An  n-gram references the frequency a phoneme, word, or phrase occurs across a span of text or speech. The Google Ngram Viewer allows you to search through Google Books across a span of years for a series of terms, and it will graph the rate of appearance for those terms.
 
I thought it might be interesting to graph the frequency for several of my surnames. I chose the eight surnames of my great great grandparents. However, after the inital attempt, I removed 'Deutsch' from the list since it dwarfed the rest of the surnames. Terms that are relatively similar in frequency work best in these graphs.
 
Below is the chart for Cruvant, Blatt, Feinstein, Newmark, Vanevery, Denyer and Lichtman. The span of years I chose was 1900-2000. I selected English language texts. Below the graph are links to the actual Google Books search results for each term graphed for particular decades.
 
(Click to enlarge)



If you enlarge the graph, and look carefully, you'll notice that the blue line for Cruvant appears briefly in the 1950s. This is due single-handedly to my cousin, Bernard Cruvant, who got some press for his psychiatrical work.  The surname Feinstein definitely grew in use in the last half of the century, going from least frequent to most. I was at first a little surprised "Denyer" wasn't more common, but I have to go back a couple centuries for that particular spelling of the English word, for someone who denies, to be prevalent.  And I hadn't noticed the search was 'case-sensitive.' When I plotted 'Denyer' vs 'denyer' it was clear that in the 1700s the religious term made several appearances. If I hadn't limited the seach to English texts, the Blatt surname would likely have increased in frequency significantly.

Some reviews I found online raised questions about the accuracy of the results.
1) The amount of texts from particular time periods are likely uneven, does Google weigh this into the equation?

I believe the answer must be, "yes." The Y-axis is a percentage, not number of occurrences. They claim each point on the graph is the frequency for a given year.

Of course, the type of material that has been scanned will make a difference. (Fiction, scholastic journals, reference works, etc) I suspect the diversity of digitized material decreases the further back one goes.

2) Optical character recognition can easily get confused. One example is that in older texts the letter 's' looks a lot like the modern 'f''. 

3) If a particular term has had multiple spellings over time that will also, naturally, impact the graph, as I pointed out with the surname, Denyer.

Wordless Wednesday: Critical Thinking Test

The questions and answers on this "Critical Thinking Test" are circa 1960s.


(Answers below the fold)

Monday, November 26, 2012

Amanuensis Monday: Myrtle Van Every Requests Documentation On Her Grandfather's War Service


Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***
This week I share documentation of my maternal grandmother participating in some genealogical research of her own. She submitted a letter requesting official documentation of her maternal grandfather's war service. She received two responses - one from the War Department, and one from the Texas Library and Historical Commission State Library. (If she submitted a separate request to the Texas State Library, she didn't save a copy.)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Nov 18-24

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.
Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Nov 25 - Feast of Christ the King (Christian)
  • Nov 26 - Day of the Covenant (Baha'i)
  • Nov 28 - Ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá (Baha'i)
  • Nov 28 - Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib (Sikh)
  • Nov 30 - St. Andrew's Day (Christian)
  • Dec 1 - Great Union Day (Romania)
  • Dec 1 - National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day
  • Dec 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • Dec 2 - Advent - First Sunday (Christian)
  • Dec 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • Dec 6 - St. Nicholas Day (Christian)
  • Dec 7 - Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (US)
  • Dec 8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Christian)
  • Dec 8 - Rohatsu/Bodhi Day (Buddhist) 
  • Dec 9 - International Anti-Corruption Day
  • Dec 8 - Hanuka - Dec 8 (sunset) to Dec 16 (sunset) (Jewish) 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Repost: Conflicting Emotions

I want to talk about a holiday filled with conflicting emotions.

This is a holiday that remembers our ancestors’ religious persecution.

This is a holiday that commemorates freedom and hope.

Celebration of this holiday involves food, prayer, games, and family gathered.

This holiday requires us to close our eyes, temporarily, to the facts.

This holiday requires us to forget, for the moment, what happened afterward, in the following generations.

We focus on the freedom, the hope, the opportunity, with the albatross of that same opportunity squandered hanging over our heads, but not welcome at the holiday table filled with food, family, and festivities.

I probably should wait to talk about this holiday, since it doesn’t begin for another 2.5 weeks.

Hanuka begins on the evening of December 8 this year.

However, in the year 164 BCE, when Mattathias, his sons, and their followers fought back against religious persecution, the month on the Roman calendar was November. Kislev 25 fell on November 21st, to be exact.

As Rabbi Joseph Telushkin in Jewish Literacy, writes, “One of the sadder ironies of Jewish history is that the Maccabees led a successful revolt against King Antiochus’ anti-semitic oppressors only to turn into oppressors of the Jews themselves. (p. 112)”

On Hanuka we will focus on the freedom, the hope, and the opportunity, just as we as Americans do on Thanksgiving. We need to teach our children what happened next, so they aren’t blind to the forces of history, but that can be done on a different day. It doesn’t need to weigh us down on a holiday meant for celebration.

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Mystery of the Secondhand Shop

I'm not always adept at adding or subtracting years from a face and judging whether two photos are a possible match. However, since composing this morning's Amanuensis Monday, I've been looking back and forth between the photograph of the secondhand shop, and some photographs I have of members of the Cruvant family. As I mentioned in my notes, while I'd like the photograph to be of Selig Feinstein and his family, for whom I don't have photographs to compare, my second great grandfather Moshe Leyb Cruvant also owned a secondhand shop in 1900.


On the top left is the secondhand shop from the news article.

On the right is my second great grandmother, Minnie (Mojsabovski) Cruvant, and my great grandmother, Bertha (Cruvant) Newmark. To the immediate left of this text is my second great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant.

In 1900, Bertha would have been about 13. Her older brother, Ben, would have been 15. And her younger brother, Sol, would have been 7.  I do see vague facial similarities between the photos I have of Bertha, Minnie and Moshe Leyb and the individuals in the photograph from the St. Louis Republic. I don't believe I have any photos of Sol.

I don't know when the photograph of Moshe Leyb was taken, but he passed away in 1911, so if we assume ten years had passed, he would still have had to age significantly. However, he would have been 43 in the 1900 photo, which looks about right. He only lived to age 54 - he looks older in that photograph by today's standards than he really is.

Their shop on Morgan Street was within the boundaries of Little Jerusalem as defined in the article, though not as close to the location on Seventh street as the Feinstein shop.

If this is the Cruvant family, the baby is a complete mystery.  Sol is the youngest child of Moshe Leyb and Minnie we know about. However, Moshe Leyb had some kin in St. Louis, and perhaps that's a nephew or niece that happened to show up in a photo.

The facial resemblances are tantalizing, but I really need a known photograph of one of them from much closer to 1900 to make a comparison.

Update


This photograph of my great grandmother, Bertha, I believe comes from a few years prior to the one above. She is on the right. (It is her sister, Stella, on the left.) I think the resemblance remains, though the girl in the newspaper's photo isn't looking straight at the camera, and is partially hiding her face with her hand, making it difficult.

This is the earliest photograph I can find of Sol, dated 1930.

I have looked at the known Cruvant births in St. Louis, and none of Moshe Leyb's kin had babies who would be under a year old in August of 1900. The closest was born in October of 1898. The presence of that baby throws the greatest wringer in the theory of a match.

Amanuensis Monday: Little Jerusalem - St. Louis - 1900

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***
This week we return to "Little Jerusalem" - an area of St. Louis mentioned in last Monday's entry - for an extensive feature story on the town. I discovered this article at ChroniclingAmerica as well.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Nov 11-17

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.
  • Those who use Gmail for their email will be pleased to know you can now search for emails by their size. So if you are running out of space, finding those photographs you emailed to relatives is now significantly easier. Even if you were utilizing FindBigMail or a similar application, you will likely find Gmail's new search functions are an improvement.
Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Nov 20 - Universal Childrens' Day
  • Nov 21 - National Adoption Day (US)
  • Nov 21 - Yule (Neopagan)
  • Nov 22 - Thanksgiving (US)
  • Nov 23 - Ashura (Islam) - Nov 23 (sunset) - Nov 24 (sunset)
  • Nov 24 - Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom (Sikh)
  • Nov 25 - Feast of Christ the King (Christian)
  • Nov 26 - Day of the Covenant (Baha'i)
  • Nov 28 - Ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá (Baha'i)
  • Nov 28 - Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib (Sikh)
  • Nov 30 - St. Andrew's Day (Christian)
  • Dec 1 - Great Union Day (Romania)
  • Dec 1 - National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day
  • Dec 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • Dec 2 - Advent - First Sunday (Christian)

Saturday, November 17, 2012

SNGF: 100-word challenge

Tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings was based on the 100-word challenge.

The 100-word challenge is a weekly challenge given to children under the age of 16. The majority of participants appear to be from England or Australia, though there are some American youth. Last week's prompt was "Grandparents are important because."

For the SNGF challenge, Randy provided readers with the same prompt.

I didn't write a story. I wrote a poem - exactly 100 words in length, if one includes the title.


Grandparents are Important Because 

They can share the stories
of when our parents were young
and didn’t listen to what they were told.

They can also share the stories
of when they were young
and didn’t listen to what they were told.

They can teach us
the world was around long before we were,
and while we may think

everything is now different
a lot of it is still very much the same.
And while it might appear

we aren’t listening,
when we are grandparents
we’ll remember the stories,

and pass them on,
and that is why
grandparents are important.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Cinderella Genealogy

Just because the shoe fits, doesn't mean it belongs to Cinderella.

When a marriage document indicates that someone was 21 when they got married, the researcher is likely to go back 21 years and look for a birth record. Finding one with the appropriate name doesn't mean you have 'found Cinderella.' The more common the name, the more likely there could be doppelgängers lurking.

Back in July I indicated that I had found a William Denyer baptized in Headly, Hampshire in 1771. This was of interest since my fifth great grandfather, William Denyer, was married in 1791, in Hampshire, at the age of 21. Since slightly delayed baptisms aren't uncommon, I thought there was a possibility I had found my fifth great grandparents - William Denyer and Elizabeth Fyfield.  As nicely as the shoe fit, I realized there could be another William Denyer out there with another perfectly matched shoe.

As I detailed in my July post, these aren't the same parents as those on many online family trees. Many of them suggest a William baptized in 1763, which would have made him 28 in 1791. The marriage allegation specifically says 21. In this case, the shoe doesn't fit, and it seems several researchers are  behaving like Cinderella's step-sisters, and attempting to cut off toes or heels to force a fit.

Today in Google I found a marriage allegation for a William Denyer (of Headly) and Elizabeth Hunt about 21 years prior to the 1771 baptism. It's the loosest of connections - a name, a place, and an approximate time. But it certainly deserves further research. I hesitate researching too much further back until I find corroborating evidence.

28 Feb., 1748-9. William Denyer of Headly, co. Hants, taylor, bachelor, 21, and Elizabeth Hunt of Farnham, spinster, 21 ; at Farnham. Francis Hunt of Farnham, labourer, 2nd s.

Source: Eng. (Diocese) Commissary Court Surrey. Allegations for marriage licences issued between 1673-1770; with an appendix of allegations discovered whilst the ms. was passing through the press (Volume 2). p. 30.

Hants is a common abbreviation for 'Hampshire.'

(Image Source: Andy Lapham, 2012. Used under Creative Commons license

Monday, November 12, 2012

Amanuensis Monday: Nightshirt Parade in Little Jerusalem - 1900


Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009.  Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***

I discovered the following news story at ChroniclingAmerica, a digital collection of newspapers belonging to the Library of Congress. It makes reference to Julius Odelsohn, the brother of my second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein. They both changed their surname from the original Dudelczak upon arriving in America.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Weekly Genealogy Picks: Nov 4 - Nov 10

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

The US Election
Other Topics
Other Weekly Lists
Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

Two Week Calendar
  • Nov 11 - New Year (Jain)
  • Nov 11 - Father's Day (Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway)
  • Nov 11 - Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day (US, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Belgium)
  • Nov 11 - Deepavali/Diwali (Hindu) - Nov 11-15
  • Nov 11 - Birth of Baha'u'llah (Bahai) - Nov 11 (sunset) to Nov 12 (sunset)
  • Nov 13 - World Kindness Day 
  • Nov 14 - World Diabetes Day
  • Nov 14 - Hijra (Islamic New Year) - Nov 14 (sunset) to Nov 15 (sunset) 
  • Nov 15 - Shichi-Go-San (Japan)
  • Nov 15 - Beginning of Winter Lent (Eastern Orthodox)
  • Nov 16 - International Day of Tolerance
  • Nov 17 - International Students' Day
  • Nov 20 - Universal Childrens' Day
  • Nov 21 - National Adoption Day (US)
  • Nov 21 - Yule (Neopagan)
  • Nov 22 - Thanksgiving (US)
  • Nov 23 - Ashura (Islam) - Nov 23 (sunset) - Nov 24 (sunset)
  • Nov 24 - Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom (Sikh)
  • Nov 25 - Feast of Christ the King (Christian)

Veterans Day / Remembrance Day 2012

Caption for photo to left: Human Statue of Liberty. 18,000 Officers and Men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Colonel William Newman, Commanding. Colonel Rush S. Wells, Directing. Mole & Thomas, 09/1918. (source)

November 11 is Veterans Day in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Belgium. In Poland it is celebrated as Independence Day.

Below are the names of ancestors, and their siblings, who I know served their nation's military, either in a time of war, or in a time of peace. I am including my Loyalist ancestors; their nation was Great Britain. Canada became their country after the war. I am including my Confederate ancestors too, despite their desire to form a separate nation.

Fifth Great Grandfathers
McGregory Van Every (1723-1786) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Michael Showers (1733-1796) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers

Fourth Great Grandfather
David Van Every (1757-1820) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)

Fifth Great Uncle
Benjamin Van Every (1759-1795) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)
William Van Every (1765-1832) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Peter Van Every (1771-bef 1816) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)

Fourth Great Uncles
David Van Every Jr. (1782-1847) Loyalist/Second York regiment (War of 1812)
Michael Van Every (1790-?) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)

Second Great Grandfather
Ebenezer Denyer (1828-1872) (Mexican-American War) (Confederate Army)

Third Great Uncles
Samuel Jennings Denyer (1822-1861) (Gonzales County Minute Men - Republic of Texas -1841)
Samuel T Hartley (1830-1920) (Confederate Army)

Great Grandfather
Samuel Deutsch (1861-1938) (Franz Josef's Austro-Hungarian Army)

Grandfathers
Melvin L Newmark (1912-1992), WWII
Martin J Deutsch (1907-1991), WWII

Great Uncles
Jerry Deutsch (1909-1950), WWII
Allen Deutsch (1914-1988), WWII
Harold Newmark (1915-2003), WWII
Mandell Newmark (1923-1945), WWII (Killed in Action)
Bernard Feinstin (1913-1968), WWII
Seymour Feinstein (1917-1999), WWII

Uncle
Stevan J Newmark (1942-1997) Army Reserves

Photographs of those who served in World War II

My grandfathers Melvin Newmark (1912-1992) and Martin Deutsch (1907-1991)


Allen Deutsch (1914-1988) and Maurice "Jerry" Deutsch (1909-1950).


Harold Newmark (1915-2003) and Mandell Newmark (1923-1945).


Bernard "Benny" Feinstein (1913-1968) and Seymour "Babe" Feinstein (1917-1999)