Amanuensis Monday: Barnard Goldfinch and the Siege of Winchester

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 three years ago, 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.

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Last week I mentioned that I had found two news articles of interest at British Newspaper Archive. This week I am sharing the second.

The below was found on page 7 of the Hampshire Advertiser - Saturday February 6, 1854. It describes the discovery of a tombstone corroborating a local legend.

Happy 126th Birthday to my Great Grandfather

Happy 126th Birthday 
 to my great grandfather
 Barney Newmark

(He was born in Warka, Poland, but often claimed to have been born in Ireland on March 17th. The latter part could be truth, or blarney.)


 The Wearing of The Green
version by Dion Boucicault (1820-1890)

1. Oh! Paddy, dear, and did you hear
The news that's going round,
The shamrock is forbid by law
To grow on Irish ground.
Saint Patrick's Day no more we'll keep
His color can't be seen
For there's a bloody law agin'
The wearing of the green.

I met with Napper Tandy
And he took me by the hand
And he said "How's poor old Ireland?
And how does she stand?"
She's the most distressful country
That ever you have seen,
They're hanging men and women there
For wearing of the green.



2. Then since the color we must wear
Is England's cruel red
Sure Ireland's sons will n'er forget
The blood that they have shed.
You may take the shamrock from your hat
And cast it on the sod,
But 'twill take root and flourish still
Tho' underfoot 'tis trod.

When the law can stop the blades of grass
From growing as they grow,
And when the leaves in summer time
Their verdure dare not show,
Then I will change the color
I wear in my caubeen,
But till that day I'll stick for aye
To wearing of the green.



3. But if at last our color should
Be torn from Ireland's heart,
Her sons with shame and sorrow
From the dear old sod will part.
I've heard a whisper of a country
That lies beyond the sea,
Where rich and poor stand equal
In the light of freedom's day.

Oh, Erin! Must we leave you,
Driven by the tyrant's hand?
Must we ask a mother's welcome
From a strange but happy land?
Where the cruel cross of England's thralldom
Never shall be seen
And where in peace we'll live and die
A-wearing of the green.

Past St. Patrick's Day posts
March 17, 2011 Happy St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2010 Barney's Birthday and Birthplace
March 17, 2009 On St. Patrick's Day Everyone is Irish
March 17, 2008 My 'Irish' Great Grandfather
March 15, 2007 Corned Beef and Cabbage on Rye

Creating a Time Capsule

Blogger Bill West at West in New England asks how other genealogists would go about creating a time capsule to be opened in 100 years.

1 Make a list of what you would put in a time capsule and why you'd chooseeach item.
2, What would you use for the time capsule? Where would you have it kept? 

First: I would not put in any CDs, DVDs, or Flash Drives.

Doing a little spring cleaning recently I came across some 3.5 inch diskettes and wondered what was on them. I remembered I had a USB floppy drive - somewhere.  I was able to find it, however, I last  used that drive a few years ago.  We're talking 100 years?

Sure.  I could put a new computer in the time capsule, and assume it would operate in 100 years.  But would there be any way to transfer the documents from the computer to whatever devices are being used at that time?  And no batteries will last that long -- how certain are we that electronic devices will be plugged into wall sockets in the exact same way as they are today?  What kind of wall sockets were in use in 1912?  (Answer: The two-pin socket was invented in 1904. The grounded socket was invented in 1915.)

So I would eschew storing any data on any electronic storage medium for this time capsule.

1) I would store photographs, clearly labeled with names, places, and dates.
2) I would store printed copies of genealogy registers
3) I would get family members to write down any stories of their own lives they'd like to share with the future, and I would do the same.

I would store these in an air-tight container.  But where would I place it?

I would be hesitant to bury the container...where would it be buried where the family might have access to un-bury it in a 100 years?  Community Time Capsules have an easy answer burying it on government property, private families do not.

I would be hesitant to use a safety deposit box...why burden future generations with paying for that safety deposit box?  I suspect a future generation might decide to open it beforehand rather than letting it sit for additional decade(s)

I'm not really sure the best answer to this question.

Amanuensis Monday: Baume De Vie - 1794

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 three years ago, 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.

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I was informed that the British Newspaper Archive was providing 30 free credits for new registrants. Their database is free to register, and to search, but to view the newspaper pages one must spend 5, 10 or 15 credits depending upon the age of the newspaper, and whether it was a black and white, or color scan.  I found two newspaper articles with information on potential relatives, and spent 15 of the 30 credits. They have a range of subscription packages for when the 30 credits run out.  (The cheapest is a 2-day 500 credit package that costs £7 or approximately $10.  The most expensive is a 12-month unlimited credit package for £80 or approximately $120.) I'm not likely to purchase more than a 2-day package, as I don't think there's going to be much there for me right now.

The below was found on the front page of the Hereford Journal - Wednesday September 17, 1794. I believe it was an advertisement in the form of a testimonial letter for a 'miracle cure.'

Amanuensis Monday: Local reaction to 1908 report on local tenements by St. Louis Civic League

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 three years ago, 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.

***
In July and October of 2008 I wrote two blog posts concerning the 1908 conditions of tenements in St. Louis as found in an 84 page report published by the Civic League of St. Louis. Several of my paternal ancestors lived in the vicinity around that time period.

It occurred to me recently to ask, "What was the reaction to this report in 1908?"  Through my local library card I have access to ProQuest's Historical Database for the St. Louis Post Dispatch (1879-1922), so I conducted a search and found the below two news articles which provide a nice summary of the report as well as some of the ideas the League had for correcting the situation.